iCarly: The Musical: Our Last Summer
by Color With Marker
Summary: Sequal to iCarly: The Musical! After the Ridgeway High School Class of 2012 graduates, they go through their last summer together. But how can they enjoy summer after Sam dies? More drama, more love, and more singing!
1. Lot of Livin' to Do

_**(A/N: It's time for the return of iCarly: The Musical! This is going through the summer between graduation and college, minus *gasp* Sam! I waited until now because yesterday... I saw MEMPHIS on Broadway! It's about to end its run, and the lead was FREAKING ADAM PASCAL! As soon as he stepped on stage, I grabbed my friend's arm and squeezed the life out of him. Anyone else who saw Memphis knows how AMAZING it is. Anywho, let's get this show on the road, shall we?)**_

* * *

It was two days after they had graduated. Everyone had been sitting in their houses or apartments, doing what they usually do, not talking to anyone much. Carly still worked at Quisp. Tasha was taking summer classes at university. Brad had been moping around, only talking to Carly, Freddie, and Melanie. Freddie stayed in his apartment, leaving once to pick up his AZT. Lani hung out with Ariana and Jamie, naturally, but it wasn't the same. Melanie left her house to mourn with Brad. Wendy, Valerie, Missy, Shannon, and Patrice stayed in Patrice's apartment for the past two days; she lived at the Bushwell Plaza, just like Brad, Carly, and Brad did. Gibby, Jonah, Pete, and Shane were all seen by Carly at her job the previous day. Spencer had been too wrapped up in his art sculptors or was camping with his friend Socko to notice his sister's actions.

And Sam stayed on their minds. Her funeral was planned to be in a few days.

But tonight, they were going to celebrate graduating.

Freddie buttoned up his shirt and ran a comb through his hair. He checked out his reflection in the mirror. He thought he looked perfect for his girlfriend.

_"There are chicks just ripe for some kissing  
And I mean to kiss me a few  
Man those chicks don't know what they're missing  
I've got a lot of livin' to do!"_

* * *

Brad quietly opened his bedroom window and climbed onto the fire escape. He looked back to make sure his parents weren't there before descending toward the groun below.

_"Sizzling steaks all ready for tasting  
And there's Cadillacs all shiny and new  
Gotta move 'cause time is a-wasting  
There's such a lot of livin' to do!"_

* * *

Carly danced out of Quisp and headed toward her friends' hangout- the Groovy Smoothie.

_"There are men of nineteen or twenty  
Who are suave and reckless and true  
Older men who give a girl plenty  
I've got a lot of livin' to do!"_

* * *

Lani drove her, Ariana, and Jamie, passing many familiar faces heading to the same place as them.

_"There's music to play  
Places to go  
People to see  
Everything for you and me!"_

* * *

It seemed that they all went inside at once. T-Bo groaned; they always moved tables together when they did. And within thirty seconds, every table in the restaurant was pushed together by seventeen loud teenagers who were shouting their orders at the Jamaican. He sighed.

"What the heck do y'all want?" he snapped. He counted up a tally; six Strawberry Splats, five Blueberry Bangs, five Tingleberry Blitzes, and one Jalepeño Blitz (ordered by Melanie, who could actually drink the smoothie without feeling the intense burning inside of her mouth). He nodded and started making the drinks.

_"Oh, life's a ball  
If only you know it  
And it's all just waiting for you  
You're alive  
So come on and show it  
We got a lot of livin'  
Such a lot of livin'  
Got a lot of livin' to do!"_

"Do any of y'all wanna pickle?" T-Bo asked, holding up a stick penetrating five large pickles.

"T-BO!"


	2. Our Last Summer & Rent

"So, we're all graduates," Carly said as she spun her straw around in circles. Brad nodded and put his arms around her waist.

"It's gonna be great!" he cried. "I got accepted to NYU. I got into their film program!"

"Dude, me too!" Freddie exclaimed. The best friends high-fived each other while the others failed at masking words like "A/V geeks" and "nerds" with coughs.

"Well, I'm going to University of Washington, Seattle," Carly said. "My job at Quisp really pays great."

"I'll bet," Pete muttered. "Do you know how many one dollar bills I've lost to you?"

"I'm going to Harvard," Melanie said. "I got accepted into their law school. Six years from now, if any of you get arrested, just give me a call."

"Ariana and I are going to UCLA for their Performing Arts program," Jamie said.

"What about you Lani?" Ariana asked.

"Actually, I'm not going to college," Lani said. The others stared at her.

"You do realize that you're the only one of us not going to college?" Valerie asked. "I mean, even _Jonah_ is going to community college!"

"I'm not too worried about it. After all, I do have a recording contract."

"_WHAT?"_ everyone exclaimed.

"Since when?" Freddie asked.

"A few days after the Miss Ridgeway competition, Shawn Quincy saw my talent act on Splashface and called me! He says that my song _Alien Eyes_ can be my first single on my new contract!" Lani bounced in her seat. "Isn't that great! I'm moving to LA by the end of August."

"And you never told any of us?" Missy asked, looking hurt. "I thought we were all friends now or something."

"I only told one person," she said quietly. "Sam."

"I'll remember last summer with Sam," Gibby said, grinning.

"Me too," Pete added.

"Back when we were all on edge?" Jonah asked. "Remember? She only talked to you two."

"But the summers before that were glorious," Freddie sighed.

"And she wore bikinis all of the time!" Brad added, earning him slaps from the others.

_"I can still recall  
Our last summer  
I still see it all  
Walks along the Seine  
Laughing in the rain  
Our last summer  
Memories that remain_

_We made our way across the river  
And we sat down in the grass by the Seattle Tower  
I was so happy we had met  
It was the age of no regret  
Oh, yes  
Those crazy years  
That was the time of the thirst for power  
But underneath we had a fear of flying  
Of growing old  
A fear of slowly dying  
We took a chance  
Like we were dancing out last dance."_

Freddie nodded at the memories of the three best friends; himself, Brad, and Sam.

_"I can still recall  
Our last summer  
I still see it all  
In the tourist jam  
Round the Notre Dame  
Our last summer  
Walking hand in hand."_

Melanie sighed at the thought of her sister.

_"Paris restaurants  
Our last summer  
Morning croissants  
Living for the day  
Worries far away  
Our last summer  
We could laugh and play."_

"How dull it seems," Carly said. The others gave her a look.

_"Yet, you were the hero of my dreams_

_I can still recall  
Our last summer  
I still see it all  
Walks along the Seine  
Laughing in the rain  
Our last summer  
Memories that remain..."_

"HEY!" Spencer ran into the Groovy Smoothie, waving his arms around wildly. "Who here lives at the Bushwell Plaza?" T-Bo, Brad, Freddie, Patrice, and Tasha all raised their hands.

"You know I do," Carly said, rolling her eyes. "Why, what's wrong?"

"Mr. Bushwell is here, and he's demanding rent for this year _and_ next year, or else we're all getting evicted!" Spencer cried. The Bushwell Plaza tenants exchanged a look before running out of the Groovy Smoothie.

"Wait, T-Bo!" Spencer called out to the restaurant owner.

"What?" the man asked.

"Make me a Blueberry Banana Blitz."

"Blue-Ba-Blitz coming up!"

* * *

"What's going on?" Freddie demanded as he and his friends ran into the lobby of their apartment building.

"_GET OUT!_" Lewbert screeched. The owner, Mr. Bushwell approached the teens.

"You all owe me rent," he said calmly. "This year and next year's. And it's due by the twentieth of August."

"That's ten thousand dollars worth of money!" Brad cried. "How can we make that kind of money by then?"

"Figure it out or move out." Mr. Bushwell snapped his fingers at Lewbert. "Walk me to my car and polish the wheels." The disgusting doorman let out an ear-splitting whine before heading outside. Mr. Bushwell handed Brad a piece of paper before exitting the building.

"Damn it," he said. He balled up the paper and threw it on the ground angrily.

_"How do you document real life  
When real life's getting more like fiction each day?  
Headlines, bread-lines  
Blow my mind  
And now this deadline  
'Eviction- or pay'  
RENT!"_

Freddie picked up the paper and read it.

_"How do you write a song  
When the chords sound wrong  
Though they once sounded right and rare  
When the notes are sour  
Where is the power  
You once had to ignite the air?"_

_"And we're hungry and frozen-"_

_"Some life that we've chosen!"_

The two guys turned to their frightened friends.

_"How we gonna pay  
How we gonna pay  
How we gonna pay  
Last year's rent?"_

"We light candles?" Tasha suggested. Some other people showed up. A family consisting of two little boys, an attractive older sister, and a stern-looking father.

"What's going on?" the middle child asked.

"We're being evicted!" Carly wailed.

"What?" the sisted cried. "Oh no!"

"Blame Mr. Bushwell," Brad said as he raced up the stairs with Freddie behind him.

_"How do you start a fire  
When there's nothing to burn  
And it feels like something's stuck in your flue?"_

Freddie pulled out the keys to his apartment and unlocked the door. Fortunately, his mother wasn't there to see the stack of eviction papers outside their door.

_"How do you generate heat  
When you can't feel your feet  
And their turning blue?"_

"We light up a mean blaze!" Brad exclaimed as he pulled out a metal trash bin from Freddie's hall closet.

"With posters!" Freddie exclaimed as he ripped _Galaxy Wars_ papers off of the wall.

"And screenplays!" Brad grabbed old scripts from A/V club. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit the papers as they were thrown into the metal bin.

_"How we gonna pay  
How we gonna pay  
How we gonna pay  
Last year's rent?"_

* * *

Spencer walked across the street with his smoothie.

"Hey, you got a smoothie, I see," a shadowed figure said.

"Yeah," Spencer answered. "It's a Blueberry Banana Blitz!" Suddenly, he was thrown to the ground, kicked in the guts, and had his smoothie dumped over his body. The person ran as Spencer tried to get to his feet. He couldn't.

_"How do you stay on your feet  
When on every street it's trick-or-treat  
And tonight it's trick!  
Welcome back to town  
Oh, I should lie down  
Everything's brown  
And uh-oh  
I feel sick!"_

"Where is he?" Carly asked as she looked out the window for her brother.

"Getting dizzy..." Spencer doubled over and fell face-first into the pavement.

* * *

Brad and Freddie opened the window and climbed onto the fire escape. Everyone else was out there, looking down on Mr. Bushwell and Lewbert.

_"How we gonna pay  
How we gonna pay  
How we gonna pay  
Last year's rent?"_

Freddie threw in old songs he wrote that he thought were total crap.

_"The music ignites the night with passionate fire."_

Brad grabbed another screenplay and tore it from the staple connecting it.

_"The narration crackles and pops with incendiary wit!"_

_"Zoom in as they burn the past to the ground."_

_"And feel the heat of the future's glow."_

Freddie went onto the fire escape to see that Tasha and Patrice were out there.

_"How do you leave the past behind  
When it keeps finding ways to get to your heart?  
It reaches way down deep and tears you inside out  
'Til you're torn apart  
Rent!"_

Brad carried out the metal bin as Carly came outside.

_"How can you connect in an age  
Where strangers, landlords, lovers  
Your own bloodcells betray."_

The two boys dumped the burning paper over the edge of the fire escape and let it dance in the still summer air.

_"What binds the fabric together  
When the raging, shifting winds of change  
Keep ripping away!"_

Mr. Bushwell shook his head.

_"You draw a line in the sand  
And then make a stand."_

Freddie laughed at Brad.

_"Use your camera to spar!"_

Brad didn't take it lightly.

_"Use your guitar!"_

Both shared a quick look before turning back to their enemy.

_"When they act tough- you call their bluff_

_We're not gonna pay  
We're not gonna pay  
We're not gonna pay  
Last year's rent  
This year's rent  
Next year's rent  
Rent rent rent rent rent  
We're not gonna pay rent_

_'Cause everything is rent!"_

The other tenants shouted at Mr. Bushwell, letting him know exactly how they felt towards him. Carly smirked and looked up to see a boy her age looking down at her. She smiled and waved at him shyly.

"I don't think I've seen you around," he tells her.

"I've only been here for a year and a half. I'm Carly."

"Griffin." With that, Griffin went inside, and Carly kept her eyes on that spot where she first saw him.


	3. The Are Worse Things I Could Do

Carly sat outside her apartment and leaned back against the door. Spencer was the one with the key, and as far as she knew, he was still at the Groovy Smoothie with her friends while she awaited the police to arrive and arrest Brad and Freddie for throwing flaming paper into the busy Seattle streets. She heard the elevator doors open and the scuffling of feet, but they didn't belong to Mr. Bushwell or Officer Carl. It was Griffin.

"Hey," she said, smiling.

"Howdy there, stranger," the boy replied smoothly. He pulled her onto her feet and held her close. She nearly fainted when she could feel his biceps in her dainty hands.

"Uh..." Carly temporarily forgot what she wanted to say. "How'd you know where I live?"

"It's the only place that I didn't know the people," Griffin answered. "And now that we're closer, I do recognize your face a bit..."

"And me too."

They answered at the same time: "Quisp."

* * *

"Uh oh," Freddie whispered as he looked out his peephole. He could clearly see his best friend's girlfriend making out with Griffin of all people. The bad boy was very notorious and infamous around the building to those who knew him. Obviously, Carly hadn't caught drift of why.

"What uh oh?" Brad asked, scaring his best friend.

"Um..." Freddie's beeper went off at that moment. "I thought I forgot to reset this! AZT break!" Freddie popped out a pill from its dispenser and rushed to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Brad furrowed his brows.

"What are you hiding from me?" he asked his best friend.

"What makes you think that I'm hiding something?"

"Because you drink a lot of water whenever you're hiding something from me!" It was true, and Freddie wasn't covering up well as he refilled his glass after chugging the first amount of water in seven seconds.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said before hastily raising the cup to his lips.

"Liar! What's outside the apartment?" Brad demanded. Before waiting for an answer, he flung the door open to witness what Freddie had. Carly's eyes widened and she shoved Griffin off of her.

"Brad!" she cried.

"You have a boyfriend?" the bad boy asked. He turned to see Brad and laughed for a few seconds before dashing to the elevator.

"Griffin?" he asked weakly. "Of all people you cheat on me with, _Griffin_?"

"It's not what it looks like!" Carly claimed.

"Really? It looked like my ex-girlfriend was kissing another guy."

"It's not- you said ex." Carly froze at that, her eyes welling up. "Are... are you breaking up with me?"

"You expected me to stay with you?" Brad shook his head. "You know, I was fine with you being a dancer, but this... I can't." He went back inside Freddie's apartment and slammed the door behind him. Carly started to cry. She hated screwing up her life.

_"There are worse things I could do,  
Than go with a boy or two  
Even though the neighborhood thinks  
I'm trashy and no good  
I suppose it could be true  
But there are worse things_

_I could do I could flirt  
With all the guys  
Smile at them and bat my eyes  
Press against them when we dance  
Make them think they stand a chance  
And then refuse to see it through  
That's the thing I'd never do_

_I can stay home every night  
Wait around for Mr. Right  
Take cold showers everyday,  
And throw my life away  
On a dream that won't come true_

_I could hurt someone like me  
Out of spite or jealousy  
I don't steal and I don't lie  
But I can feel and I cry  
In fact I'll bet you never knew  
But to cry in front of you  
That's the worse thing I could do."_

Carly prayed that this would be the last time she'd have to deal with Brad, but she knew that was impossible; tomorrow, Sam was finally being buried.


	4. Goodbye Love

The mourners stood behind Freddie as he placed a rose on Sam's coffin. They were at the local cemetery, all of them watching as their friend was finally buried. Carly gripped onto Griffin's hand and looked at Brad, who just stared at the coffin with empty eyes. He had his arm around Melanie's shoulders. Lani tried to take Freddie's hand, but he shoved her away. She gaped at him while Ariana and Jamie tried to comfort her. Lani ended up taking off away from the group with her friends behind her. Everyone slowly stepped away while Freddie continued to stare at the coffin as it was lowered into the ground.

Carly looked up to Brad.

_"It's true you sold your camera  
And bought... a car?"_

Brad didn't look at her, but nodded in response.

_"It's true  
We're leaving now for Memphis  
It's true your with this piece of scum?"_

Griffin gripped Carly's arm.

_"You said you'd never speak to him again."_

"Not now," she insisted, pulling away from him.

Gibby scoffed at Griffin.

_"Who said that you have any say  
In who she says things to at all?"_

"Yeah!" Brad snapped.

Tasha shook her head.

_"Who said you should stick your nose  
In other people's-"_

"Who said that I was talking to you?" Gibby cut her off. He was emotional since Sam's death and shut himself off from the world.

Tasha had finally had it with his behavior.

_"We used to have this fight each night."_

"Calm down," Wendy warned. Tasha ignored her.

_"He'd never admit I existed!"_

"Everyone please," Valerie pleaded. Carly stopped and glared at the back of Brad's head.

_"He was the same way  
He was always,  
'Run away,  
Hit the road,  
Don't commit'  
You're full of shit!"_

"Carly!" Spencer warned. Tasha grabbed Gibby and turned him around.

_"He's in denial."_

_"He's in denial."_

_"Didn't give an inch when I gave a mile!"_

"Come on!" Patrice whined. Carly didn't let up.

_"I gave a mile!"_

Brad whirled around at this.

_"Gave a mile to who?"_

"Come on guys, chill!" Missy and Shannon shouted. Tasha and Carly shared a look.

_"I'd be happy to die  
For a taste of what  
Sammy had  
Someone to live for  
Unafraid to say, 'I love you!'"_

Brad stalked closer to his ex, who backed away slowly.

_"All your words are nice, Carly  
But love's not a three-way street  
You'll never share real love  
Until you love yourself- I should know!"_

Freddie showed up and shoved Brad back.

_"__You all said you'd be cool today  
So please- for my sake...  
I can't believe she's gone  
I can't believe you're going  
I can't believe this family must die  
Sam helped us believe in love  
I can't believe you disagree!"_

Everyone exchanged glances.

_"I can't believe this is goodbye..."_

Gibby and Tasha hugged and cried. The girls walked away. Spencer led Carly and Griffin away. Now it was just Brad and Freddie. Freddie ran his hands through his hair.

_"I hear there's better restaurants than the West."_

Brad nodded.

_"Some of the best... how could she?"_

_"How could you let her go?"_

_"You just don't know!  
How could we lose Sammy?"_

_"Maybe you'll see why  
When you stop escaping your pain  
At least now if you'll try  
Sam's death won't be in vain-"_

_"Her death is in vain!"_

"Are you insane?" Freddie snapped. He never expected Brad of all people to say that.

_"There's so much to care about  
There's me, there's Melanie-"_

Brad sighed.

_"Mel's got her baggage too."_

_"So do you!"_

_"Who are you to tell me what I know what to do?"_

"A friend," Freddie said quietly.

_"But who Freddie are you?  
'Freddie's got his work,'  
They say, 'Freddie's lives for his work,'  
And 'Freddie's in love with his work!'  
Freddie hides in his work!"_

"And what does Brad hide from?" he countered.

_"From facing your failure, facing your loneliness  
Facing the fact you live a lie  
Yes, you live a lie- tell you why  
You're always preaching not to be numb  
When that's how you thrive  
You pretend to create and observe  
When you really detach from feeling alive-"_

Brad shook his head.

_"Perhaps it's because I'm the one of us to survive!"_

"Poor baby!" Freddie snapped. He softened when he saw that Brad was tearing up a bit.

_"Brad still loves Sam-  
Am I really jealous?  
Or afraid that I'm weak?"_

"You do look pale," Brad pointed out.

_"I've gotten thin!  
I'm running out of time!  
Brad's running out the door!"_

_"No more!  
Oh no!"_

"We've gotta go," Brad said, gesturing to where Melanie was waiting with the car.

"Hey!" Freddie called out as Brad headed toward the car. "For someone who's always been let down, who's heading out of town? And for someone who longs for a community of his own, who's with his camera, alone?" Brad turned to give Freddie one last look.

"I'll call," he said. Brad got in the car and drove away with his best friend's sister.

"I love her after all," Freddie said aloud. He turned to see Lani, Jamie, and Ariana. "You heard?" he asked weakly.

Lani nodded. "Every word."

Freddie sighed.

_"You don't want baggage without lifetime guarentee  
You don't want to watch me die."_

Lani let out a small laugh.

_"I just came to say  
Goodbye love  
Goodbye love  
Goodbye love  
Goodbye_

_Just came to say (Glory)  
Goodbye love (One blaze of)  
Goodbye love (Glory)  
Goodbye (Have to find...)"_

Freddie watched Lani and her friends walk away. Carly and Griffin stormed past him at the same time. Carly turned and shoved Griffin away.

_"Please don't touch me  
Understand  
I'm scared  
I need to go away."_

Freddie reached out to his neighbor.

_"I know a place- a clinic."_

"A rehab?" Griffin asked, making a face.

"How could you?" Carly spat. The couple held hands and walked away with their noses in the air. Freddie walked back to Sam's tombstone.

_"Goodbye love  
Goodbye love  
Came to say goodbye, love, goodbye  
Just came to say  
Goodbye love  
Goodbye love  
Goodbye love  
Hello disease..."_

Freddie grabbed a shovel and slowly began to bury the love of his life for good.


	5. Are We The Waiting

"Spencer, we're home!" Carly called out as she and Griffin walked through the front door. Her brother was lying on the couch, surfing through the channels.

"Oh, hey kiddo," he said. "How's Freddie?"

"He hasn't left his apartment since the funeral last week, you know that." Carly led Griffin to the kitchen. "You want me to make you some of my special lemonade to cheer you up?"

"_No_. I'm already depressed enough." Spencer didn't see the hurt look on his little sister's face. He stopped changing the channels when he saw a familiar face on the television screen.

"_You wanna do something better with your life? Then join the army! You will be a hero for your country and save your home from being bombed to smithereens!_"

"Carly!" Spencer shouted.

"What?" Carly ran into the room and looked at the TV. "Griffin, is that you?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," he said dumbly.

"He's on TV with our dad!" Spencer cried.

"Why are you on an army commercial?" Carly asked, completely ignoring the fact that it had been the first time she'd seen her father in almost two years.

"I joined the army," Griffin answered, shrugging. "I'm being deployed in about a week. Why?"

"Because some people should tell their girlfriends that they joined the army! Right Spencer?" The two turned to the thirty-year-old man, who was still staring at the television set. "Spencer?"

"If I join the army, I'll be with dad," Spencer said to himself.

"He's not in the army, he's in-"

"Carly, don't you know what this means?" The older Shay grabbed his sister and shook her violently. "I'll be able to make it up to dad for dropping out of law school."

"Spencer, if you wanted to make it up to him for dropping out of law school, you would go back to law school!" Carly exclaimed.

"But this is bigger and better," Spencer insisted.

_"Starry nights  
City lights coming down over me  
Skyscrapers and stargazers in my head  
Are we, we are  
Are we, we are the waiting unknown  
This dirty town was burning down in my dreams  
Lost and found, city bound in my dreams  
And screaming-"_

Griffin stood beside him. Carly just shook her head.

_"Are we, we are  
Are we, we are the waiting (And screaming)  
Are we, we are  
Are we, we are the waiting."_

Spencer stood on the staircase, mock-saluting the TV.

_"Forget-me-nots and second thoughts  
Live in isolation  
Heads or tails and fairytails in my mind  
Are we, we are  
Are we, we are the waiting unknown  
The rage and love, the story of my life  
The Jesus of Suburbia is a lie  
And screaming-"_

_"Are we, we are  
Are we, we are the waiting (And screaming)  
Are we, we are  
Are we, we are the waiting (The waiting unknown)  
Are we, we are  
Are we, we are the waiting (And screaming)  
Are we, we are  
Are we, we are the waiting (The waiting unknown)  
Are we, we are  
Are we, we are the waiting (The waiting unknown)_

_The waiting  
The waiting  
The waiting..."_

"I know a place you can sign up at!" Griffin cried. "I was just there last month!"

"Cool!" Spencer shouted. "I'll grab my coat!" The two men ran out of the apartment, leaving behind a confused and disappointed Carly.

"Seriously?" she asked no one in particular. She sat down on the couch and groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me..."


	6. Memphis Lives in Me & Life Support

Melanie sighed and leaned her head against the window of Brad's car. They had been driving for over two days across the country to her hometown; Memphis, Tennessee. She had moved away when she was ten, but she never forgot her family. The crazy cousins on parole. The aunts and uncles with longer criminal records than Sam. And none of them knew that one of their favorite blonde twins had passed away. Her mother was very negligent. Melanie rolled down the window, stuck her head out, and took a deep breath of the Memphis air. She missed it.

_"There's a town that I call home  
Where all the streets are paved with soul  
Down on Beale there's a honky-tonk bar  
So hear the wail of a blues guitar  
Have a beer and drop a dime in the blind man's jar."_

They came to a red light. An older man was leaning against the side of a building playing his guitar. He looked up and Melanie and tipped his hat forward slightly with a grin on his face. How she missed seeing people like this daily.

_"The blues sing softly in the air  
Like a Sunday morning prayer  
Just one more drink and you'll see God everywhere  
Like a sad old melody  
That cheers you up, it sets you free  
That's how Memphis lives in me."_

"Hey, Tanya!" the blonde shouted out the window. Her older cousin looked up and smiled.

"Melanie Puckett," she greeted. "I thought I'd never live to see the day you came back."

"Parole?"

"Most definitely."

The light turned green and Brad continued driving. Melanie waved goodbye, even though they were both heading to the same place.

_"There comes a time when muddy waters run rough  
There comes a point when a girl has had enough  
Like a friend who always stands by me  
Memphis knows me  
Never showed me  
How did like just had to be."_

"Chaz!" Melanie shouted as they turned onto a long dirt road. Said cousin was at the corner of it, unscrewing bolts on a stop sign.

"'Sup, Mel?" he replied as he continued taking apart the sign.

"Stay out of prison!"

"Impossible!"

Melanie giggled at that; she was the only Puckett who hasn't been in jail yet.

_"I couldn't even try to run away, say goodbye  
Here I was born and here is where I'll die  
I'm just a girl from Tennessee  
I can't be what I can't be  
All I know is Memphis lives in me."_

They stopped outside a large house. Brad turned off the car and Melanie just slid out the window. She sat on the hood of the car and stared at the place she grew up.

_"I said I'm just a girl from Tennessee  
Can't be what I can't be  
All I know is Memphis lives  
All I know is Memphis gives  
All I know is Memphis lives...  
In me."_

"Melanie!" two adults cried as they rushed out of the house and hugged the blonde.

"Greg! Annie!" she exclaimed as she saw her cousins. Brad came out of the car and smirked at the Pucketts.

"Where's Sam?" Annie asked. Melanie and Brad frowned at that. Brad took the blonde's hand for moral support. The cousins understood immediately.

"When?" Greg asked.

"In the beginning of June," Brad answered. "She was buried a few days ago. We'd assumed her mother took care of things, but we should have known better."

"Let's go inside," Annie suggested, forcing a smile. "You know, before the cops come and arrest one of us for something."

* * *

Freddie sat down and watched the others. After debating this with himself several times, he finally mustered up the courage to go to Life Support. He was sitting in a circle with eight other people who were living with AIDS too. For once, it was like he fit in somewhere. A place he wouldn't be judged for being HIV positive. They were all going around introducing themselves, starting with the man two seats away from Freddie.

"Trey."

"Ernie."

"Cassie."

"Natalie."

"Jenna."

"Cort."

Freddie realized it was his turn. "Freddie... Benson."

"I'm Marty," said the final man. Freddie recognized him as the waiter from Pini's. "Let's begin." He watched as the others stood up.

_"There's only us  
There's only this-"_

"Sorry!" a new voice called out from the back. The others sat down abruptly. "Excuse me- oops!" Freddie looked and gaped at who he saw. _Carly_.

"And you are...?" Marty asked. Carly's eyes widened.

"Oh, I'm not- I'm just here to- I don't have- I'm here with..." She sighed and took a deep breath to collect herself.

_"Carly  
Carly  
I'm Carly!  
Well, this is quite an operation."_

"Sit down Carly," Marty said. "We'll continue the afirmation." Carly nodded and pulled up a chair next to Freddie. The others stood up again.

_"Forget  
Regret  
Or life is yours to miss."_

Trey shook his head and cut off all of the others.

_"Excuse me, Marty  
I'm having a problem with this  
This credo  
My T-cells are low  
I regret that news, okay?"_

Marty smiled and nodded.

_"Alright  
But Trey  
How do you feel today?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"How do you feel today?"_

_"Okay..."_

_"Is that all?"_

_"Best I've felt all year."_

_"Then why choose fear?"_

_"I live in Seattle  
Fear's my life!"_

The others giggled at that. Freddie rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Is there a problem Freddie?" Marty asked him.

"No," he growled.

"Then tell everyone why you came here."

"My..." Freddie looked to Carly for help. She just nodded.

"Our best friend just died of AIDS," she explained. "Freddie has been going through hell, and he is HIV positive as well. He got it from his dad, who died of AIDS when he was little. And I came to learn more about the disease and to help my best friend." She smiled at Freddie, who mouthed, "_Thank you_," to her.

"You're not the only one who lost someone to the disease," Ernie called out. "I lost three friends so far, and I'm gonna be the next one."

"You're not alone," Cassie said, smiling sweetly. Freddie just sighed and stood up.

_"Look, I find some of what you teach suspect  
Because I'm used to relying on intellect  
But I try to open up to what I don't know."_

Carly stood up beside him.

_"Because reason says I should have died  
Three years ago."_

Now they were all standing.

_"No other road  
No other way  
No day but today."_


	7. 21 Guns

Carly sat in the hallway by her front door with Freddie. They had just come home from Life Support, and they were both rethinking everything they've done in life. Carly felt guilty for all the times she'd mistreated Sam, particularly when she chased her out of Ridgeway and threw stones at her. Freddie couldn't believe that so many people were cursed with AIDS. Even his own coworkers, Trey and Natalie from the local Pear Store, were sick. And the worse part about all of this? They were surely going to be evicted by the end of the summer, before they even make it to college. Of course, Freddie would be on the other side of the country in NYU, but Carly was going to university in Seattle, and therefore needed the Bushwell Plaza so she didn't need to pay to live in a dorm room.

"Ten thousand dollars," Freddie scoffed. "How the hell am I going to come up with _ten thousand dollars_ before the end of August?"

"Not even the end," Carly reminded him. "We have until the twentieth. And it's the fourth of July." They groaned and hit the back of their heads against the wall. They soon regretted that as they winced in pain.

Spencer opened the front door with his duffel bag packed. He looked down at his baby sister and willed himself to smile.

"Hey, kiddo," he said glumly. "I'm leaving now."

"I know," she said. She stood up and embraced her brother. She sniffled a bit and wiped away the tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't get yourself into trouble, okay?" Spencer said. Carly nodded.

"What will happen if you die?" she asked. "Or if we get evicted?"

"I know you'll find a way," he whispered to her, kissing her forehead. He waved goodbye to Freddie and headed off to the elevator. Carly sighed and leaned back against the wall, sliding to the floor. Freddie put an arm around her, but she shook him off.

_"Do you know what's worth fighting for  
When it's not worth dying for?  
Does it take your breath away  
And you feel yourself suffocating?  
Does the pain weigh out the pride  
And you look for a place to hide?  
Did someone break your heart inside?  
You're in ruins."_

* * *

In Memphis, Melanie climbed out her bedroom window on the roof of her family's house. From up there, she got a great view of the late night fireworks.

_"One, twenty-one guns  
Lay down your arms  
Give up the fight_

_One, twenty-one guns  
Throw up your arms into the sky  
You and I."_

Brad followed her and sat beside her, taking her hands in his.

_"When you're at the end of the road  
And you've lost all sense of control  
And your thoughts have taken their toll  
When your mind breaks  
The spirit of your soul."_

* * *

Freddie led Carly onto the fire escape just in time for the Seattle fireworks show to begin. It was usually held at the football field at Ridgeway, but they weren't going to even attempt to make it there.

_"Your faith walks on broken glass  
And the hangover doesn't pass  
Nothing's ever built to last  
You're in ruins."_

Carly put one arm around her friend's shoulder. He put one around her waist.

_"One, twenty-one guns  
Lay down your arms  
Give up the fight  
One, twenty-one guns  
Throw up your arms into the sky  
You and I."_

* * *

Tasha and Gibby sat on the fire escape of Tasha's apartment building. Tasha smiled; she loved fireworks. Not even the events of the past month could bring a damper to her favorite day of the year.

_"Did you try to live on your own  
When you burnt down the house and home?  
Did you stand too close to the fire  
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?"_

* * *

At the football stadium, Lani was performing for thousands of people in Seattle. Ariana and Jamie volunteered to be her backup singers. The audience cheered for the teenager, who smiled.

_"When it's time to live and let die  
And you can't get another try  
Something inside this heart has died  
You're in ruins."_

She looked to her two best friends and nodded at them to join in with her.

_"One, twenty-one guns  
Lay down your arms  
Give up the fight  
One, twenty-one guns  
Throw up your arms into the sky  
You and I."_

* * *

Carly let out a weak smile. A tear rolled down her cheek as she thought of her brother and Griffin.

_"Nobody likes you  
Everyone left you  
They're all out without you  
Having fun."_

"So many holidays we won't be able to celebrate without Sam," Freddie said. "This is one of them."

"Well, why not celebrate them _for_ her?" Carly suggested. Freddie thought about that for a minute.

"She said that she was going to celebrate Christmas in July," he said. "And it's twenty-one days away..."

"Perfect!" Carly cried, hugging Freddie. "We're gonna throw Sam the best Christmas in July celebration that Seattle has ever seen!"


	8. Popular

Carly walked into Quisp early that night. She wanted to get some practice on the pale before her performance in a few hours. No one had arrived yet; no one usually did for another two hours. She sat at the bar and gave the bartender, a desperate-for-work Tasha, a look, meaning to give her the usual. Tasha nodded and gave her friend a "virgin" bloody mary. At least, as far as the others were concerned, it was alcohol-free. Carly heard someone slump into the seat next to her and saw a distraught Lani.

"Whatever is good here, Tasha, just gimme it," she said. Tasha nodded and scurried to find something for the girl. Carly studied her for a moment. Lani's dark brown hair was unkempt and sticking up in many places. Her green eyes were barely able to stay open, as if she hadn't slept in days. She was wearing red plaid skinny jeans a grey and black striped t-shirt. Carly was nearly ready to call the fashion police before deciding that maybe it wouldn't do Lani any good.

"You okay?" she asked gently. Lani looked over and slowly nodded her head.

"This was in Sam's will," she said, pointing to her clothes. "Sam left me some of her wardrobe. These were the first two things I saw when I wanted to go out."

"Have you been out since Sam's funeral?" Carly pressed as Tasha handed Lani her drink.

"On the house," the bartender said with a weak smile.

"Thanks," Lani told her. Then she said to Carly, "I haven't left the house since I got home from it. I got into a fight with Freddie, and he's blaming it on him dying and her already being dead... What if he's being this way because he's still in love with her?"

"I wouldn't doubt it for a minute," Carly answered without thinking. Lani's eyes widened before downing her drink- a shot of tequila. She wrinkled her nose and let out a few coughs.

"Strong," she croaked.

"Listen, you really need to get over him," Carly continued. "I mean, when we were together, he wanted to get _married_. And we were only seventeen, and from there, things just got too messy. You can do so much better."

"But the other guys around here are disgusting," Lani whined. "I mean, the only other decent guys around are Brad and Gibby. Brad's got Melanie-"

"And my Gibby is unavailable to any other girl," Tasha added as she caught the tail end of the conversation.

"What about guys other than them?" Carly asked. "Hell, you're going to be a millionaire singer soon! Guys will kill to be with you!"

"Really?" Lani asked before taking another shot. Carly made a face at that. Then an idea popped into her head and a sly grin grew on her face.

"Lani, now that we're friends, I've decided to make you my new project," she said, elbowing her friend.

"You really don't have to do that..."

"I know. That's what makes me so nice!" Carly bounced off her seat and dragged Lani out of hers.

"_Whenever I face someone  
Less fortunate than I  
(And let's face it  
Not many are less fortunate than I!)  
My tender heart  
Tends to start to bleed  
And when someone needs a makeover  
I simply have to take over  
I know I know exactly what they need  
And even in your case  
Though it's the toughest case I've yet to face  
Don't worry  
I'm determined to succeed  
Follow my lead  
And yes, indeed..._"

Carly crawled on to the stage and stood next to a pole. Lani just shook her head and opted to sit on a chair nearby. Carly shrugged and began dancing on it.

_"You will be:  
Popular!  
You're gonna be popular  
I'll teach you the proper ploys  
__When you talk to boys  
Little ways to flirt and flounce  
I'll show you what shoes to wear  
How to fix your hair  
Everything that really counts_

_To be popular  
I'll help you be popular!  
You'll hang with the right cohorts  
You'll be good at sports  
Know the slang you've got to know  
So let's start  
'Cause you've got an awfully long way to go..."_

"I'm not that much of a wreck, am I?" Lani asked self-consciously. Carly stopped dancing and sat on the edge of the stage.

"Tell me what Ariana and Jamie have said so far to you," she said.

Lani didn't answer. She couldn't find one.

"That's what I thought," Carly said, giving a weak smile and squeezing her hand.

_"Don't be offended by my frank analysis  
Think of it as personality dialysis  
Now that I've chosen to be come a pal  
A sister and adviser  
There's nobody wiser  
Not when it comes to popular  
I know about popular  
And with an assist from me  
To be who you'll be  
Instead of dreary who-you-were- are  
There's nothing that can stop you  
From becoming populer- lar!_

_La la la la  
We're gonna make  
You popular!"_

"Carly, we're not in high school anymore," Lani reminded her.

"Exactly!" Carly cried. "We're gonna make you ready to make your début in the real world! In _Los Angeles!_" She squealed and hopped up and down a bit.

"_When I see depressing creatures  
With unprepossessing features  
I remind them on their own behalf  
To think of celebrated heads of state  
Or specially great communicators  
Did they have brains or knowledge?_"

"If they got into college," Lani pointed out. Carly giggled and punched the other girl lightly on the shoulder.

"Come with me," she said. She jumped up and dragged Lani backstage to her vanity area. She sat Lani down and began brushing through her hair, trying to get through the knots.

"_Don't make me laugh!  
They were popular!_"

"Are you sure?" Lani grimaced. Carly nodded and began applying lip gloss to her.

"_Please  
It's all about popular!  
It's not about aptitude  
It's the way you're viewed  
So it's very shrewd to be  
Very very popular  
Like me!_"

"Why, Lani Hilmeds, look at you!" Carly gushed. "You're beautiful!" She stepped aside for Lani to see her reflection. Her hair wasn't messy anymore, but smoothed down and hanging just past her armpits. She had a shade of red on her lips. A bit of liquid liner on her eyes that made them seem even more green.

She'd never felt so pretty in her life. Or tipsy.

"I have to go," she said before taking off.

"You're welcome!" Carly called out after her. She then worked on doing her own makeup.

"_And though you protest  
Your disinterest  
I know clandestinely  
You're gonna grin and bear it  
Your newfound popularity  
La la la la  
You'll be popular-_

_Just not quite as popular as me!_"

Carly giggled at her reflection, blew a kiss at the mirror image of herself, and skipped to find her outfit for the night.


	9. Give Me Novocaine & One Song Glory

_**(A/N: The first half of this chapter is a bit gruesome, for those who may cringe through this. I know I am...)**_

* * *

It was all a flash for Spencer. He couldn't hear anything but the cries of those who were injured. The innocent civilians wailing as loved ones were perished. Other comrades of higher rank barking orders at the others, including Spencer and Griffin, and ran through the streets. Buildings, vehicles, even people were on fire, the burnt smell of their remains lingering in the air. Children cowered behind parents or guardians or older siblings with their thumbs jammed in their mouths and tears rolling down their ashen faces. Spencer wished that he knew that this was how disgusting war was before he decided to sign up for this. And with all people, he was with his sister's boyfriend, or, as Griffin had admitted one night, the man who had attacked him outside of his apartment building earlier in the summer. The created an immediate tension between them. The two men were crouching behind what remained of a wall, reloading their guns.

"If I don't make it out of this, I want you to tell your sister that I really loved her," Griffin told Spencer.

"And if I don't make it out of this," Spencer replied, "I want you to stay the hell away from her-"

_BOOM!_

When no one was noticing, a few suicide bombers had emerged and attacked. Spencer flew through the air and landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. When he woke up, he moved his toes. He could only feel five moving. He picked up his head as far as it could to see that the bottom half of his right shin and right foot had been blown off. He didn't feel the pain, nor the urge to scream. He put his head back down and looked off to his left. There were other men, most of them semi-conscious and moaning in pain from concussions and other injuries. He looked to the left. There lied Griffin.

Dead.

Spencer just stared up now. His hearing was slightly muffled. A large dark pillar of smoke rose to the sky. He could hear machine guns shooting at the enemy of whomever the gunners were. He didn't know what hell was until he lived in the middle of this war.

And now the pain came along. Seering hot white pain from where his leg should have been. Spencer bit his lip and balled his hands into fists in order to keep from hollering. He didn't want to risk the chance of someone coming along to kill the rest of him.

"_Take away the sensation inside  
Bittersweet migraine in my head  
It's like a throbbing toothache of the mind  
And I can't take this feeling anymore  
Drain the pressure from the swelling  
This sensation's overwhelming  
Give me a long kiss goodnight  
And everything will be alright  
Tell me that I won't feel a thing  
So give me Novocaine_

_Out of body and out of mind  
Kiss the demons out of my dreams  
I get the funny feeling and that's alright  
Carly says it's better than here  
I'll tell you what  
Drain the pressure from the swelling  
This sensation's overwhelming  
Give me a long kiss goodnight  
And everything will be alright  
Tell me that I won't feel a thing  
So give me Novocaine_

_Aah, Novocaine!_

_Drain the pressure from the swelling  
This sensation's overwhelming  
Give me a long kiss goodnight  
And everything will be alright  
Tell me that I won't feel a thing  
Give me Novocaine..."_

Spencer repeated that last line once more before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he lost consciousness again.

* * *

"_I'm writing one great song before I_..." Freddie sang as he strum a few chords on his guitar. He tried his hardest to find the right song, the one he wanted to use to win back Lani, but there was nothing.

"You want some inspirational Doctor Gibb to cheer you up?" Carly suggested as she held out a soda to her best friend. He shook his head and she sighed. She set the sodas down on her coffee table and flopped down on the futon beside Freddie, who growled as he tried playing Musetta's Waltz. He always messed up at the same part and could never get past it.

"I can't write a damn song!" he shouted.

"What about the one you wrote for Sam?" Carly asked.

"Well, Sam isn't Lani! They are polar opposites!"

"Well... what about that one song you said that you wrote for when you need an inspiration boost?" Carly gave him a pointed look. Freddie groaned and reluctantly obeyed her. He started playing the song, knowing that she wouldn't let up if he didn't even try. And that song _did_ help him write Sam's song...

"_One song  
Glory  
One song  
Before I go  
Glory  
One song to leave behind  
Find  
One song  
One last refrain  
Glory  
From the pretty boy front Man  
Who wasted opportunity  
One song  
He had the world at his feet  
Glory  
In the eyes of a young girl  
A young girl  
Find glory  
Beyond the cheap colored lights  
One song  
Before the sun sets  
Glory- on another empty life_

_Time flies  
Time dies  
Glory  
One blaze of glory  
One blaze of glory  
Glory_

_Find  
Glory  
In a song that rings true  
Truth like a blazing fire  
An eternal flame  
Find  
One song  
A song about love  
Glory  
From the soul of a young man  
A young man  
Find  
The one song  
Before the virus takes hold  
Glory  
Like a sunset  
One song  
To redeem this empty life_

_Time flies  
And then- no need to endure anymore  
Time dies..._"

There was a knock on the door as Freddie strummed the last chords.

"The door," he said, turning to Carly. He set down the door and they opened it. About five men from the army were there. Four holding a coffin. The fifth standing right before the teens with a folded up American flag.

"What's going on?" Carly asked, worried.

"I'm here for the girlfriend of Griffin..." The man couldn't pronounce the last name. Carly gasped and Freddie put his hand on her shoulder.

"He's... he's..." Carly couldn't finish her sentences between sobs.

"I'm so sorry for your loss ma'am," the man said, handing her the flag. The men turned to go up to Griffin's apartment a few floors up as Carly sank to the floor, dissolving into tears.


	10. Will I & Super Sam and the Invisible Mel

"Thank you, Cassie, for sharing," Marty told the British member of the Life Support group. She smiled sheepishly and blushed. Marty looked over at Carly and said, "What about you?"

"What about me?" Carly asked as she picked dirt from underneath of her fingernails.

"Life Support isn't just for people with AIDS," Marty told her. "It's about people coping with life. And I know that even though you aren't sick that your life can't be picture perfect, correct?"

"I..."

"It's okay, Carls," Freddie said sympathetically. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't hold back."

Carly sighed and looked around. "I'm a dancer... well, more appropriately, a S&M dancer at the over eighteen section of Quisp. I have to come up with ten thousand dollars by the twentieth of August, and so far, I'm barely over one thousand. My brother Spencer's artwork isn't selling either, and..." Carly sniffled a bit before continuing, "Spencer is in the army. He's stationed in the Middle East right now. My boyfriend Griffin was too, but... he's dead." Freddie wrapped his arms around Carly as she began to cry.

"You're very brave, Carly," Marty said. "You may not be proud of the person you are, but you're putting yourself out there with all of the bad things that are happening in your life. And we're all here to support you."

"Thanks," she said. She wiped away tears. "But I'm still afraid." She stood up and looked around at the others in the group.

"_Will I lose my dignity?  
Will someone care?  
Will I wake tomorrow  
From this nightmare?_"

The others in the group stood up with her with solemn looks on their faces.

"_Will I lose my dignity?  
Will someone care?  
Will I wake tomorrow  
From this nightmare?_"

Patrice stood at the street corner and lit a cigarette. She pulled down the waistband of her skirt and prayed someone would be interested. She needed the money to keep her apartment, and this was her only option left.

"_Will I lose my dignity?  
Will someone care?  
Will I wake tomorrow  
From this nightmare?_"

Spencer awoke after being heavily sedated again. He craned his neck to see how bad the damage was. It wasn't until he saw the five toes of his right foot that he remembered that he was missing part of his left leg. He lied back down and sighed.

"_Will I lose my dignity?  
Will someone care?  
Will I wake tomorrow  
From this nightmare?_"

Lani, Ariana, and Jamie sat down in their dressing room. Their feet ached and they were sweaty. Lani's song had become a hit and they were filming the music video for it. It involved dancing and lip-singing for several hours. They were all sore and dizzy by now.

"_Will I lose my dignity?  
Will someone care?  
Will I wake tomorrow  
From this nightmare?_"

* * *

"Where's Auntie Pam?" Annie asked as she braided Melanie's hair. The blonde smirked and shook her head.

"She ain't coming," she answered. Now that she was back at home, her accent came back to her. When she was in Seattle, she grew out of it, but being around family brought it out. Brad found it amusing and stiffled a giggle as he threw a baseball in the air and caught it repeatedly.

"Why not?" the cousin asked with a pout. "Don't she care about us?"

"She's cares about nothing and no one but herself."

"She cared about Sammy though, right?"

"She didn't care about Sam," Brad snorted.

"Better than me," Melanie said. "I was sent to a private school so that she didn't have to deal with two of us. I mean, half of the times she actually got money, it went to Sam's AZT. It might sound selfish, but I hated that. Everyone loves Sam more than me."

"But sweetie..." Annie began.

"It's true," Melanie insisted.

"Mel, we care about you both equally," Brad said, sitting up.

"That's bull!" Melanie cried. She got up in Brad's face.

"_Super Sam and the Invisible Mel  
Daughter of Steel and Daughter of Air  
Sam's a hero, a lover, a saint  
I'm not there_

_Super Sam and the Invisible Mel  
Everything a kid ought to be  
She's immortal, forever alive  
Then there's me._"

Melanie turned to face Annie.

"_I wish I could fly  
And magically appear and disappear  
I wish I could fly  
I'd fly far away from here_

_Super Sam and the Invisible Mel  
Sam's the one you wish would appear  
She's your hero, your savior, your girl  
She's not here  
I am here!_"

Annie stood up and glared at her cousin.

"_You know that's not true  
You're the pride and joy, the perfect plan  
You know we love you  
We love you as much as we can._"

Annie ran out of them room. Melanie turned to Brad and threw her hands up in the air.

"_Take a look at the Invisible Girl  
Here she is, clear as day  
Please look closely and find her  
Before she fades away!_"

Brad got right in Melanie's face. The two stared at each other, almost begging each other with their eyes to let up on the other.

"_Super Sam and the Invisible Mel  
Daughter of Steel and Daughter of Air  
Sam's a hero, a lover, a saint  
I'm not there  
I'm not there  
I'm not there  
I'm not there!_"

"You think that you're the only one suffering because Sam's dead?" Brad asked. "We _all_ are. We all lost her. You're not the only one." Melanie's lip quavered before she started sobbing. She fell into Brad's arms and he tried to soothe her with little success.


	11. Look at Me, I'm Melanie & Without Love

Melanie shoved Brad off of her. "Why are you the one being so nice to me?" she whimpered.

"What are you talking about?" Brad asked with a small laugh of confusion.

"You act like I don't know what Sam said about me when I was at Briarwood," Melanie spat. "I know that she got all of your guys to turn against me. You would all ridicule me and try to pretend that I didn't exist."

"Mel, I..." Brad shook his head. "I can't deny that, but it's all in the past now."

"All in the past? There are videos of it on SplashFace of it!" Melanie let her hair down and slouched, pretending to be like her sister.

_"Look at me, I'm Melanie  
Lousy with virginity  
Won't go to bed till I'm legally wed  
I can't, I'm Melanie_

_Watch it, hey, I'm Doris Day  
I was not brought up that way  
Won't come across, even Rock Hudson lost  
His heart to Doris Day_

_I don't drink or swear  
I won't rat my hair,  
I get ill from one cigarette  
Keep your filthy paws off my silky drawers  
Would you pull that crap with Annette? _

_As for you, Troy Donahue  
I know what you wanna do  
You got your crust, I'm no object of lust,  
I'm just plain Melanie_

_Elvis, Elvis, let me be!  
Keep that pelvis far from me!  
Just keep your cool, now you're starting to drool  
Hey, you, I'm Melanie!"_

Brad watched her in stunned silence. After a few moments, he cleared his throat and said, "Okay, well maybe we did something like that."

"I knew it!" the blonde spat.

"Let me make it up to you!" Brad said. "Look, I need help paying rent on my apartment. I was thinking that maybe you can help me out...?"

"You mean move in with you?" Melanie asked.

"Well, yeah."

"Sure." She gave him a smile. "Might as well to piss off your landlord."

Brad laughed and hugged his friend.

* * *

There was a knock on the door of the dressing room Lani, Ariana, and Jamie were all sharing. The three girls were worn out from another day of shooting and were praying that whoever was at the door would massage their aching feet and backs. Lani reluctantly stood up and gingerly dragged her feet to the door. When she opened it, she had the urge to slam it shut. It was Freddie and Carly.

"Hey," Freddie said with a smile.

"What?" Lani asked.

"I want to apologize," Freddie said. "I was messed up when Sam died, and I didn't mean for it to affect us the way it did... Forgive me?"

"How can I forgive you?" Lani snapped. "You admitted that your still in love with her and then blew up in _my_ face because of it. And that, 'You don't want to watch me die' crap? That was the best part!" She went to shut the door but Freddie's foot prevented her from being able to do so.

"Let me explain," he begged.

_"Once I was a selfish fool  
Who never understood  
I never looked inside myself  
Though on the outside, I looked good!_

_Then we met and you made me_  
_The man I am today_  
_Lani, I'm in love with you_  
_No matter what you say_  
_'Cause_

_Without love_  
_Life is like the seasons with_  
_No summer_  
_Without love_  
_Life is rock 'n' roll without_  
_A drummer_

_Lani, I'll be yours forever_  
_'Cause I never wanna be_  
_Without love_  
_Lani, never set me free_  
_No, I ain't lyin'_  
_Never set me free, Lani,_  
_No, no, no!"_

"You're joking right?" Lani laughed. "I don't believe you for a second!"

"_Once I was a simple girl  
Then stardom came to me  
I used to be a nothing  
Now a thousand fans may disagree_

_Fame is just perfection_  
_Signing autographs never a bore_  
_I didn't have a clue_  
_'Til fame came banging on my door_

_That with love_  
_Life is like my video without a promo_  
_With love_  
_Life is making out with Pete or Jonah!_

_Darling, I won't be yours forever_  
_'Cause I would rather be_  
_Without love_  
_So darling, throw away the key!"_

Freddie shook his head.

"_I'm yours forever!"_

_"Throw away the key!"_

Ariana and Jamie popped up from behind their friend.

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah!_

_'Cause without love..."_

Carly tried defending her friend.

"_Life is like a prom that won't invite us!"_

_"Without love..."_

Freddie took Lani's hand in his.

_"Life's finding my song while I'm broken-hearted!"_

_"Without love..."_

Lani shook her hand free of his grasp.

"_Where's a '45' when you need to buy it?_"

"_Without love..."_

Carly just shrugged.

"_Life is like my brother on a diet?_"

Carly and Freddie tried forcing the door open while Ariana and Jamie tried to pull it shut again.

"_Like a week that's only Mondays  
Only ice cream never sundaes  
Like a circle with no center  
Like a door marked 'do not enter!'"_

Lani pushed everyone's hands off of the door and glared at her ex.

"_Darling, I won't be yours forever  
'Cause I would rather be  
Without love!"_

Freddie shouted one last thing through the door as Lani slammed it shut.

_"Darling, you had best believe me,  
Never leave me without love!_"


	12. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! & It Takes A Woman

"Oh my gosh, I _needed_ this," Valerie said as she took a sip of her drink.

"Tell me about it," Missy agreed. "Do you know how much stuff I have to pack for school? It's, like, a lot of stuff."

"Just be glad that you guys will have a home by the time you go to college," Patrice whined as she massaged her sore feet. "I'll be on the streets before August ends."

"If you find a guy that's worth keeping then you'd be fine," Wendy said. "What happened to Pete anyway?" She whipped out her phone instantly, ready to text people whatever Patrice would say.

"I don't even know," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "As far as I'm concerned, he's trying to pick up someone as desperate as himself."

"Or he's right over there," Shannon pointed out. The other girls glanced across Quisp to see not only Pete but Shane and Jonah as well. They were sitting on one of the couches playing Rock-Paper-Scissors and goofing around. The girls rolled their eyes.

"Boys will be boys," Wendy scoffed.

"Totally glad we'll be far away from _them_ soon," Missy added with a small flip of her hair.

"I can't believe I dated him," Valerie and Patrice said.

"In my country, we don't date boys," Shannon said.

"Why are you still here?" Wendy asked. "You were a foreign exchange student since junior year!"

"My parents didn't want me back," Shannon answered. "Anyway, in Hungary, we only date men, not boys. If you're a boy, than you are unworthy of a woman. Only men get women." Shannon handed her drink over to Valerie and climbed up on the bar.

"_Half past twelve  
And I'm watching the late show on my own  
Summer leaves  
Swaying outside my window as I look around the room  
And it makes me so depressed to see them bloom  
Is there a man out there?  
Someone to hear my prayers?_

_Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Take me through the darkness to the break of day._"

"Is it sad that she's right?" Missy asked her friends.

"No, actually, she's making sense for once," Valerie said before joining Shannon.

"_Movie stars  
Find the end of the rainbow, with a fortune to win  
It's so different from the world I'm living in  
Tired of TV  
I open the window and I gaze into the night  
But there's nothing there to see, no one in sight  
Is there a man out there?  
Someone to hear my prayers?_

_Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Take me through the darkness to the break of day._"

Missy watched as Wendy and Patrice joined the two on the bar.

"_Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Take me through the darkness to the break of day_

_Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight..._"

The girls gave Missy a look. The redhead sighed and let her friends help her onto the bar with them.

"_Is there a man out there?  
Someone to hear my prayers?_"

Now all of the girls went to the bar and danced along with the five on it.

"_Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Take me through the darkness to the break of day._"

From across Quisp, Jonah, Pete, and Shane had all been watching their exes and friends dancing and singing about wanting a man. They all found it comical, since none of them were considerably "women", but adolescent girls.

"They want men?" Jonah laughed. He called over to them, "We want women!"

_"It takes a woman all powdered and pink  
To joyously clean out the drain in the sink  
And it takes an angel with long golden lashes  
And soft dresden fingers  
For dumping the ashes_

_Yes it takes a woman  
A dainty woman  
A sweetheart, a mistress, a wife  
Oh yes it takes a woman  
A fragile woman  
To bring you the sweet things in life!_"

"He's right!" Pete added. "I mean, who do they think they are? They want us to be all righteous for them, meanwhile they're less mature than _us!_"

_"The frail young maiden who's constantly there  
For washing and blueing and shoeing the mare  
And it takes a female for setting the table  
And weaving the Guernsey  
And cleaning the stable_

_Oh yes it takes a woman  
A dainty woman  
A sweetheart, a mistress, a wife  
Oh yes it takes a woman  
A fragile woman  
To bring you the sweet things in life  
And so she'll work until infinity  
Three cheers for femininity  
Rah rah rah  
Rah rah rah  
F. E. M. I. T. Y!"_

Shane laughed at that.

"_F. E. M. I. T. Y?  
Get out of here!  
And in the winter she'll shovel the ice  
And lovingly set out the traps for the mice  
She's a joy and treasure for practically speaking  
To whom can you turn when the plumbing is leaking?_

_To that dainty woman  
That fragile woman  
That sweetheart, that mistress, that wife  
Oh yes it takes a woman  
A husky woman  
To bring you the sweet things in life!"_

All three boys marched up to the bar where the girls were all glaring at them.

"_Oh yes it takes a woman  
A dainty woman  
A sweetheart, a mistress, a wife  
Oh yes it takes a woman, a fragile woman  
To bring you the sweet things in life!_"

"You think we're the immature ones?" Wendy snapped. "We're just looking for men who can take care of us! Someone who is nothing like any of you!"

"I'm pretty sure that real men would avoid you," Shane retorted. "We're looking for women who can take care of themselves and their man! You couldn't even control yourselves long enough to look like one." He referred to their shorts and tank tops. All of the girls scowled and simultaneously threw their drinks on the boys.

"And that's why you're just boys," Missy added as they left Quisp.

"And that's why you're just girls!" Pete shouted at her.


	13. A Little More Homework

Freddie smiled and knocked on Carly's door. A few minutes later, the brunette opened it. Freddie tried not to make a face at her appearance. Her hair was disheveled and sticking out in all directions. Makeup that hadn't been washed off from the night before was also on her, along with a rhinestone near her left eye. She was wearing on oversized shirt that she stole from Spencer's room and a pair of shorts that barely covered what it needed too. A few bruises were forming on the top of her leg from being hit against metal poles. One of them had a fishnet pattern on it. Drool was crusted on the side of her face. It looked like she hadn't eaten in days. However, Freddie held up a cupcake with a lit candle on top.

"Happy birthday!" he cried.

"Thanks," Carly replied. Her voice cracked at the end. She subtly blew out the candle and trudged toward the kitchen. Freddie followed and shut the door behind him.

"You could've let me sing 'Happy Birthday' to you first," he teased.

"My brother is fire prone," Carly said as she grabbed two cans of Pepi-Cola from the fridge. "If I let any sort of flame into this apartment, that's just asking for an accident to happen."

"Oh." Freddie took one of the cans from Carly and drank it silently. "So, how does it feel to be turning eighteen."

"How does it feel?" Carly laughed. "It feels terrible, but thanks for trying to make it better with a cupcake."

"I would've bought a smoothie, but T-Bo isn't awake yet," Freddie admitted. "Don't you like birthdays though?"

"After the petting zoo and my bedroom burning to the ground, let's just say that birthdays aren't my thing," Carly said.

"But you're practically a woman now!"

"Sure I am, and I know it, but I'm still growing up, you know?"

Freddie shook his head. "That doesn't make much sense." He was paying more attention to his PearPhone than Carly.

"We're not mature at all, Freddie," Carly said. "We're still the same idiotic kids who graduated one month ago."

"Has it been that long?" Freddie asked absent-mindedly.

Carly groaned. "Do you know that all of our friends are fighting? No one loves each other anymore. We're all single and stupid. We're all still the dumbass kids who were just in high school not to long ago. It's like when-"

"Don't say it!"

Carly sighed. "Like when Sam was alive."

"Carly, don't do this to me," Freddie pleaded.

"If we can't admit this to ourselves, then we never will!" Carly cried.

"_If you stand here behind me  
And you call me a woman  
And you're counting on me to come through  
You should know that I'll give you the best that I can  
But we all have a little more homework to do_."

"This is different," Freddie said. "How does someone get over the one person they loved more than anything in the world?"

"You're not the only one suffering!" Carly reminded him.

"_If you're walking beside me  
And you wanna be friends  
You should know I'm depending on you  
So you gotta hang in there till the whole story ends  
'Cause we all have a little more homework to do_."

"You only knew her for one and a half years!" Freddie shouted. "I knew her for as long as I can remember!"

"And she was the first friend I had in Seattle!" Carly retorted.

"_'Cause I've been looking in the back of the book for the answers  
Hoping the bell wouldn't chime  
But I'm not ready to put down my pencil just set  
There are too many answers that I didn't get  
I need a little less pressure and a little more time_."

"You hurt her worse than you know," Freddie said.

"Don't act so innocent, because you were hurting her before I knew you," Carly added.

"_I'm trying to follow  
I'm trying to lead  
I'm trying to find what is true  
But if you're going to stand with me  
Then you have to concede  
That we all have a little more homework to do..._"

There was a knock on the door. Freddie and Carly both turned toward it at the same time. Carly was the one who walked over to open it. She did to reveal all of her friends, including Brad and Melanie.

"You guys..." Carly was speechless.

"Happy birthday!" they cheered. As they all entered, some with gifts and some without, they hugged the now-eighteen-year-old.

"Birthdays aren't meant to be happy," she muttered.

"Why not?" Brad asked. "I mean, we're home." He purposefully ignored Freddie; the boys hadn't talked since their fight at Sam's funeral one month ago.

"You're a woman!" Lani said, also looking around Freddie.

"No, I'm not," Carly cried indignantly. "I'm still the immature little girl who just moved here, and so are the rest of you!" The others disagreed openly, rolling their eyes.

"She's right; we're all still kids," Melanie agreed.

"_Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today  
You get a little bit older  
A little bit taller  
A little bit better  
A little bit  
Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today  
And the days before all go too fast  
You can't hold on  
So, you go_."

"Not _all_ of us are kids," Patrice declared.

"Says the whore," Pete muttered.

"You want a broken nose?"

"Are you gonna send your-"

"GUYS!" Melanie shouted.

"This is what we're talking about," Carly said.

"_Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today  
I'm a little bit older  
A little bit stronger  
A little bit smarter  
A little bit  
Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today_."

"It's like nothing's ever changed," Melanie said.

"_And the days ahead coming on so quick  
You can't keep running._"

One by one, they all admitted that the two girls were right.

"_Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today  
And I'm a little bit older  
A little bit faster  
A little bit closer  
A little bit  
Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today  
And the sky goes blue  
And the sky goes black  
And no matter what you do  
You can't go back  
You go day into day into day_."

"I turned eighteen, my brother and I moved from Los Angeles to Seattle," Carly said.

"_Day into day into day_."

"I turned eighteen and I slept with half of the men in Seattle," Patrice stated.

"I turned eighteen and I'm still in America," Shannon said.

"_Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today_."

"I was diagnosed with a mental disorder," Gibby said.

"I graduated school, but I'm not going to college!" Lani cried cheerfully. The others rolled their eyes; she wasn't going to college because she had a recording contract.

"_And I'm a little bit braver  
A little bit broader  
A little bit brighter  
A little bit_..."

"I turned eighteen and I have to go to Life Support every week," Freddie said. "God, it's depressing."

"_Day turns today turns today_..."

"I got busted for driving drunk," Tasha said.

"_Day turns today turns today_..."

"I got to see the other side of the country!" Brad exclaimed.

"_And I've been looking in the back of the book for the answers  
Hoping the bell wouldn't chime_."

"My friends split up," Missy said.

"And I'm not ready to get back together," Jonah said.

"There are too many reasons that we're not," Valerie added, sticking out her tongue.

"I need a little less pressure," Ariana and Jamie chorused. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"_And a little more time  
I'm trying to follow  
I'm trying to lead  
I'm trying to learn what is true  
I'm trying to be what you want and I need  
But we all have a little more homework  
We all have a little more homework  
We all have a little more homework to do  
Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today  
A little more homework to do  
Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today  
A little more homework to do  
Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today  
A little more homework to do  
Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today  
A little more homework to do  
Day turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today turns, today_..."

Everyone looked at Carly.

"My name is Carly Shay, and I live in apartment 8-C at the Bushwell Plaza in Seattle, Washington," she said. "My brother is fighting in the war. My boyfriend died. My two best friends are either dead or dying because of AIDS. Everyone is fighting. I'm an exotic dancer. Yet, I'm still standing. I'm still growing up. I'm still getting older. And I may have just graduated from high school, but I have a little more homework left to do just before summer ends."


	14. Christmas Bells

_**(A/N: There are many reasons I chose this song. 1) Christmas in July. 2) Two of the original RENT cast members are turning 43 [Adam today] and 42 [Anthony tomorrow]! 3) In dedication to the deceased Sam in this story who wanted to live until Christmas. Also, the storylines are separated based on the characters singing them, which is much easier without needing to put in a break after every time a characters sings, trust me. Sorry for the delay - enjoy!)**_

* * *

In the entire world, it was only July twenty-fifth. But in Seattle, it was more than that; it was Christmas in July. To those who were her friend, it was Sam's holiday that they never got to celebrate with her. The fact that it wasn't technically made it Christmas made it fit much more than it would've in December, along with the fact that none of them would be around by the time it was December while they were at university. Outside of Quisp, a large group of friends gathered to hang out before going inside to see their friend perform.

"_Christmas bells are ringing  
Christmas bells are ringing  
Christmas bells are singing  
On TV - at Saks_ -"

Shannon joined in and, not really understanding Christmas much, tried to join in."_Honest living, honest living  
Honest living, honest living  
Honest living, honest living!_"

The others gave her looks that signalled her to stop singing while they continued their caroling.

"_Can't you spare a dime or two  
Here but for the grace of God go you  
You'll be merry  
I'll be merry  
Tho merry ain't in my vocabulary  
No sleighbells  
No Santa Claus  
No yule log  
No tinsel  
No holly  
No hearth  
No -_"

Jonah came up as well and put his hands on top of his head jokingly.

"_Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer!_"

His friends shook their head in disapproval.

"_Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer  
No room at the Holiday Inn - oh no!  
And it's beginning to snow..._"

As they had said, the unpredictable weather of Seattle did decide it was perfect to snow during the unusually cool summer night. They took it as a Christmas in July miracle.

"_No room at the Holiday Inn, oh no!  
And it's beginning to snow_

_Christmas bells are swinging  
Christmas bells are ringing  
Christmas bells are singing  
In my dreams - next year  
Once you donate you can go  
Celebrate in Tuckahoe  
You'll feel cheery  
I'll feel cheery  
Tho' I don't really know that theory  
No bathrobe  
No Steuben glass  
No cappuccino makers  
No pearls, no diamonds  
No 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire'  
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire  
No room at the Holiday Inn, oh no -"_

* * *

Down the street, the notorious Rip-Off Rodney tried his luck on luring unsuspecting customers to buy random junk he had for a "steal." So far, he had no luck.

"_Hats, bats, shoes, booze  
Mountain bikes, potpourri  
Leather bags, girlie mags  
Forty-fives, AZT!_"

The last item he had was rewarded with confusing and dirty glances by strangers.

"_No one's buying  
Feel like crying..._"

Two faces he recognized came into the distance - Gibby and Tasha. He waved them over and displayed his table of collected junk.

"_How about a fur -  
In perfect shape  
Owned by an MBA from uptown  
I got a tweed  
Broken in by a greedy  
Broker who went broke  
And then broke down!_"

"Sure!" Tasha chirped. Gibby put his hand on her shoulder as she pulled out her wallet.

"_You don't have to do this_."

Tasha giggled and moved his hand off of her.

"_Hush your mouth, it's Christmas!_"

"_I do not deserve you, Tasha  
Give-give  
All you do  
Is give  
Give me some way to show  
How much you've touched me so..._"

Meanwhile, Tasha had begun searching through coats, ignoring Gibby's pleas.

"_Wait - what's on the floor?  
Let's see some more...  
No-no-no..._"

She noticed the snow falling from the clouds above.

"_Kiss me - it's beginning to snow!_"

Rodney wasn't ready to give in. He immediately began advertising all types of jackets he had.

_"L.L Bean  
Geoffrey Beene  
Burberry zip out  
Lining  
Here's a new arrival  
Hats, dats, bats -_"

Gibby grabbed a nearby pair of street pants_._

"_That's my pants!_"

Rodney grinned; easy money.

"_We give discounts_."

Tasha wrinkled her nose at the pair of dirty street pants.

"_Let's get a better one_..."

"Thirty," was Rodney's offer. Gibby wasn't having it.

"_It's a sham!_  
_And he's a thief!_

"_But he brought us together..._"

It was true; they met when Gibby caught Rodney trying to scam her with Cuttlefish concert tickets. Gibby decided to by sympathetic now and reached for a nearby jacket.

"_I'll take the leather_."

"_Twenty-five._"

Tasha wasn't having it and an argument began.

"_Fifteen!_"

"_Twenty-five!_"

"_Fifteen!_"

"_No way  
Twenty-four!_"

"_Fifteen!_"

"_Twenty-four!_"

"_Fifteen!_"

"_Not today  
Twenty-three!_"

"_Fifteen!_"

"_Twenty-three!_"

"_Fifteen  
It's old!_"

"_Twenty-two?_"

"_Fifteen!_"

"_Twenty-one?_"

"_Fifteen!_"

"_Seventeen?_"

"_Fifteen!_"

Rip-Off Rodney finally caved_._

"_Fifteen?_"

"_Sold!_"

With Gibby's new coat, the couple headed toward Quisp to meet up with their friends.

* * *

Lani's luck had skyrocketed when a manager approached her. But when she was sidetracked by someone else that her friends chose to ignore, Ariana and Jamie interrogated the manager and the band he said he had for the three of them.

"_Follow the band - follow the band  
With instruments playing a jam  
Follow the band - follow the band  
Help me out, daddy  
If you can  
Got any guitar band?_"

The manager chuckled at their enthusiasm.

"_I'm cool_.""_Got any bass band?_"

"_I'm cool._"

"_Got any acoustic?  
Any back-ups?  
Any keyboard?  
Any drummer boy?  
Any dough?_

_Got any guitar band?_  
_Got any bass band?_  
_Got any acoustic?_  
_Any back-ups?_  
_Any keyboard?"_

By this point, the manager asked them to leave him alone and walked off quickly. Ariana and Jamie shrugged it off and headed toward Quisp, where they hoped Lani was now.

* * *

Freddie and Brad were walking down the street. Freddie had been trying to catch Brad up to date, which was only confusing him.

"_... She said, 'Get out of my life'  
And she put on a pout  
And she wanted you  
To take her out tonight?_"

Freddie had been lying through his teeth about Lani wanted to see him - ever.

"_Right._"

"_She got you out!_"

"_She was more than okay  
But I pushed her away  
It was bad - I got mad  
And I had to get her out of my sight!_"

Now Brad was beyond confused.

"_Wait, wait, wait  
You said she was sweet..._"

"_Let's go eat  
I'll just get fat  
It's the one vice left when you're dead meat -"_

Freddie gulped when he saw her walking down the street with her two best friends and a strange man.

"_There - that's her!_"

Brad perked up.

"_Melanie?_"

"_Lani!_"

Brad saw her now, and how much she had changed between now and Sam's funeral.

"_Whoa!_"

"_I should go..._"

Snow fell as Freddie approached Lani. Brad just laughed.

"_Hey - it's beginning to snow!_"

Lani saw Freddie approaching her and left behind those she was with. Freddie was the first one to say anything.

"_Hey_."

"_Hey._"

The silence between them became awkward instantly. Freddie had to say something first.

"_I just want to say  
I'm sorry for the way -_"

"_Forget it._"

"_I went nuts..._"

Another awkward silence that, again, Freddie broke.

"_Can I make it up to you?_"

"_How?_"

"_Going to Quisp?_"

"_That'll do_."

Lani smiled at him for real.

"C'mon, let's go and join Brad," Freddie said. "It's been a while since he's been around, but you should still remember him." He linked arms with her and dragged her over to his best friend.

"_Brad, this is Lani -_"

The two waved at each other awkwardly.

"_Hi_."

Once again, it became oddly quiet. Freddie was getting agitated by this.

"_She'll be celebrating with us_."

Brad smiled.

"_I think we've met._"

Lani smiled too, as if it were a big joke that they were already friends.

"_That's what he said._"

"Thanks," Freddie muttered under his breath. He and Brad led the way for Lani.

"_Let's  
Go  
To  
Quisp  
Carly's performing!_"

Lani giggled, still being silly.

"_Who's Carly?_"

Freddie gulped.

"_His ex._"

Brad glared at Freddie. Had he not felt sorry for the way Lani had been treating him recently, he'd remind her that Freddie was Carly's ex as well. But under these circumstances, he decided against that idea.

"_But I am over her_."

Down the street from there, Lani took Freddie's hand, which he yanked away just as quickly as she grabbed it.

"_Let's not hold hands yet..._"

Lani glared at him, old tension rebuilding itself.

"_Is that a warning?_"

Brad groaned.

"_He  
Just  
Needs  
To take it slow  
I should tell you I should tell you  
I should tell you I should tell you  
I should tell you I..._"

Lani sighed.

"_You  
Just  
Needs  
To take it slow  
I should tell you I should tell you  
I should tell you I should tell you  
I should tell you I..._"

Freddie decided to be truthful for a moment.

"_I  
Just  
Needs  
To take it slow  
I should tell you I should tell you  
I should tell you I should tell you  
I should tell you I..._"

* * *

In Ridgeway, the teachers were celebrating their own Christmas in July - by cleaning out classrooms.

"_I'm dreaming of a white, right Christmas_

_I'm dreaming of a white Christmas  
Just like the ones I used to know  
Jingle bells - prison cells  
Fa la la la - fa la la la  
You have the right to remain  
Silent night holy night  
Fall on your knees oh night divine  
You'll do some time  
Fa la la la la  
Fa la la la la_..."

* * *

The last one to arrive at Quisp was Melanie, who was on the phone with her cousin Annie. Unlike the others, she was less-than-thrilled about Christmas in July because of Sam.

"_Wish me luck, Annie  
Christmas is still on..._

_Which lawyer is coming?  
He's Jewish? - Damn!_"

She stood with her friends outside of the club, admiring the unusual timing of the snow.

"_And it's beginning to  
And it's beginning to  
And it's beginning to..._

_Snow!_"

* * *

Meanwhile, while stuck in traffic from Yakima, Carly groaned and sent a text to all of her friends;

**ANYONE KNOW WHICH WAS TO QUISP?**


	15. Somebody to Love

Lani sat near the front of the stage on the opposite side of the stage from most of the others. For some of the show Carly was putting on, she was actually focused on her friend, who showed up much later than she said she would. Now her eyes were transfixed on Freddie, who was whistling and hooting and waving around dollar bills for his best friend to collect out of his hand. So were the other guys with him, and a few girls for support.

_Pig_, she thought. That was the one thing she absolutely despised about Ridgeway kids. They were all pigs to her. They didn't have the poise that those from Briarwood had. Those kids had their dignity and their future all laid out before them by now. She did. But these people just go with the flow, even though they know that within a month they may or may not be evicted from the homes they've grown up in for years. It sickened her.

Lani stood up and rushed to the bar section of Quisp. She didn't need to look back to see that Ariana and Jamie were following her. She ordered that she be given a virgin Bloody Mary and stood at the counter patiently.

"What's up with you?" Jamie asked. "You've been acting weird all night."

"Nothing," Lani mumbled as she paid the bartender for her drink.

"That's bull," Ariana called out. "It's Freddie, isn't it?"

"Why don't you go back in there and dream about Brad?" was the retort she received. Lani took her drink and took a large gulp. "I really wish they served alcohol here," she groaned.

"I think that'd defeat the purpose of an under-twenty-one club," Jamie muttered.

Just then, Carly ran up to them, still barely dressed from her previous performance with green bills sticking out of the straps of what was covering what needed to be covered. Those who were only sixteen and seventeen were stuck staring at her.

"Why'd you leave?" she whined.

"It got too awkward in there for me, you know?" Lani lied.

"That's it," Carly said. She took Lani's hand and dragged her back to the eighteen-to-twenty room and on the stage. Ariana and Jamie followed in confusion.

"What are you doing?" Lani hissed.

"I want you to pour out your feelings right here," Carly replied. She grabbed a microphone and stand from the side of the stage and placed it in front of Lani.

"Right now?" she asked weakly.

"Who wants to hear new sensation Lani Hilmeds sing her new song?" Carly asked into the microphone. The crowd responded by cheering. Carly nodded at Lani and stepped off stage.

Lani cleared her throat and thought for a minute about what to sing about. The pressure of being famous? How hard it is to find your place in the world? Death and disease? Losing your best friend? Sitting at a bar wishing you were wasted?

Her eyes laid on Freddie who stared at her with a plain expression.

And she knew what to sing.

"_Can anybody find me somebody to love?_"

Behind her, Carly set up two other microphones for Ariana and Jamie. Lani smiled and continued as her friends cheered her on.

"_Each morning I get up I die a little  
Can barely stand on my feet_."

Ariana took that as a cue to chime in.

_"Take a look at yourself_."

"_Take a look in the mirror and cry._"

"_And cry._"

"_Lord, what you doing to me  
I spent all my years to believe in you  
But I just can't get no relief, Lord  
Somebody -"_

"_Somebody!_"

" _Ooh somebody -"_

"_Somebody!_"

"_Can anybody find me somebody to love?_"

"Somebody to love you?" Jonah shouted. "Yeah, right!"

"That's so _not_ going to happen!" Pete added.

That enraged Lani and it was channeled through her voice.

"_I work hard -"_

"_She works hard!_"

"_Every day of my life  
I work till I ache in my bones  
At the end -"_

"_At the end of the day!_"

"_I take home my broken heart all on my own  
I get down (down) on my knees (knees)  
And I start to pray -_"

"_Praise the lord!_"

"_Till the tears run down from my eyes  
Oh somebody -"_

"_Somebody!_"

"_Ooh somebody -_"

"_Somebody!_"

"_Can anybody find me somebody to love?_

_Everyday  
I try and I try and I try  
But everybody wants to put me down  
They say I'm going crazy  
They say I got a lot of water on my brain  
I got no common sense  
I got nobody left to believe_

_Yeah! Got no feel, I got no rhythm  
I just keep losing my beat -"_

"_You just keep losing and losing!_"

"_I'm OK, I'm all right!"_

"_She's ok  
she's all right!_"

"_And I ain't gonna face no defeat  
I just gotta get out of this prison cell  
One day I'm gonna be free, Lord!_"

At this point, Ariana and Jamie purposefully glanced at Freddie.

"_Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love_..."

Lani saw how uncomfortable her began to grow and smirked.

"_Find me, find me oh..._"

"_Somebody, somebody, somebody, somebody  
Somebody find me somebody to love!_"

"_Can anybody find me somebody to love?  
Somebody to love!_"

The audience stood up and cheered. Carly ran on stage and hugged Lani, who kept her arms out because of the lack of clothing on Carly. She turned to give Freddie a smug look just as he stood up and rushed out of Quisp.


	16. I Am The One

Brad came into the apartment late at night to find Melanie sitting at the lone table in the kitchen. Her back was turned to him so he couldn't see what she was doing. He stripped off his jacket and walked around to see that her face was concealed by a shadow. Many things seemed off about her. First was her hair. It wasn't up in a pigtail as usual, but rather let down and hanging down her back. Also, she wasn't wearing all pink and red as she usually did. This time, she was wearing a purple tank top and black shorts. It was very out of the ordinary for Melanie.

"Mel?" Brad asked. "Are you okay?"

From another area of his apartment, he heard Melanie call back, "Are you back already?"

This frightened Brad. "Yeah, I just came in," he replied.

"Oh, good!" Melanie chirped as she walked into the kitchen. She had a fake smile plastered to her face. She grabbed herself a Pepi-Cola and sat down in the other chair.

Brad pulled back the other chair to see who the mysterious figure was.

Sam.

She smiled at Brad. "Hey there, Brad," she said.

"Sam?" he asked weakly.

"What?" Melanie asked, confused. "Did you just call me Sam?"

"No, Sam is sitting right here!" Brad insisted, motioning to the blonde twin obviously sitting right there. Sam waved at her sister, who made a face.

"She's not there," Melanie told him. She pulled out her diary from underneath of the chair and a pen. "There's absolutely nothing there." She opened the journal to a blank page and began to write;

_**OH, SAM, BRAD IS HALLUCINATING. HE THINKS YOU'RE HERE. I WISH YOU WERE. WRITING DOWN MY THOUGHTS IN THIS JOURNAL HAS BEEN GETTING DEPRESSING. THESE ARE ALL THOUGHTS I WOULD TELL YOU IN PERSON, BUT SINCE THAT IS NO LONGER AN OPTION FOR ME, I HAD TO RESORT TO PEN AND PAPER. I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE TO TRUST. SOON, FREDDIE WILL END UP JOINING YOU. THEN YOU'LL BE HAPPY AND I'LL BE STUCK.**_

As Melanie continued to write, the words could be heard aloud, echoing through the apartment. Brad was astonished by this.

"You don't trust me?" he asked.

"How'd you know?" Melanie cried as she snapped her diary shut.

"You trust your dead sister more than me!" Brad accused. "We're best friends and roommates but you can't tell me anything? That's a load of crap!"

"Brad, it's not that simple!"

"Yes, it is!"

Brad kneeled in front of Melanie and threw her diary to the side. Sam sat in her chair and watched with a bored expression on her face.

"_Can you tell me what it is you're afraid of?  
Can you tell me why i'm afraid it's me?  
Can I touch you?  
We've been fine for so long now  
How could something go wrong that i can't see?  
Cause I'm holding on  
and I won't let go  
I just thought you should know..._

_I am the one who knows you_  
_I am the one who cares_  
_I am the one who's always been there_  
_I am the one who's helped you_  
_And if you think that I just don't give a damn_  
_Then you just don't know who I am!_"

"I know that you care Brad!" Melanie insisted. "Really, I do! But it's not that simple!"

"You all act like that only one person has been affected by Sam's death," Brad said. "But you aren't the only one. I lost my lifelong friend. She was like a sister to me. And honestly, you weren't as close to her as I was."

"That's true," Sam muttered under her breath.

"I know!" Melanie cried.

"Then stop acting so selfish!" Brad spat.

"_Could you leave me?_"

Sam crawled onto the table and tried to get her sister's attention.

"_Hey Mel, it's me._"

Brad saw her, but ignored her.

"_Could you let me go under?_"

Sam and Brad then fought for Melanie's attention, although she could only see Brad.

"_Why can't you see?_"

"_Will you watch as I drown?_"

Brad and Sam glared at each other and grabbed Mel's arms. She only felt Brad's hand.

"_And wonder why?_"

Brad shoved Sam aside.

"_Are you bleeding?_"

The feisty blonde tried not to give up.

"_Are you waiting?  
Are you wishing?  
Are you wanting all that he can't give?_"

Brad saw Sam's competitiveness come out and strove to beat her.

"_Are you bruised?  
Are you broken?_"

"_Are you hurting?  
Are you healing?  
Are you hoping for life to live?_"

"_Does it help you to know..._"

They glared at each other.

"_Well so am I!_"

Brad refocused on Melanie, who was confused and hurt.

"_Tell me what to do._"

Sam was mad that she couldn't get her own twin to look at her.

"_Look at me!_"

"_Tell me who to be._"

"_Look at me!_"

"_So I can see!_"

Once again, Sam and Brad exchanged a glance.

"_And you'll see!_"

Brad stood Melanie up.

"_I am the one who holds you._"

Sam was at a loss; she didn't know what she did to support her sister now... or if she ever had.

"_I am..._"

"_I am the one who'll stay_."

"_I am..._"

"_I am the one  
Who won't walk away._"

Sam tried mocking Brad.

"_I won't walk away!_"

Brad glared at Sam.

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah  
I am the one who'll heal you_."

Sam knew that she definitely couldn't do that.

"_I am..._"

"_And now you tell me that I won't give a damn._"

Sam tried to move Brad aside.

"_You don't give a damn!_"

"_But I know you know..._"

Brad and Sam began a shoving match.

"_Who I am  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
That's who  
I am  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
That's who  
I am  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!_"

Brad stepped back when Sam charged him, causing her to fly into the refrigerator. He sat Melanie down as she tried to take this all in.

"_That's who I am  
Cause I'm holding on._"

Sam recollected herself quickly.

"_And I won't let go._"

Brad threw Sam against the wall again so she'd stay quiet while he won Melanie over.

"_Yeah I thought you should know  
I am the one who knows you  
I am the one who cares  
I am the one who's always been there  
Yeah, yeah, yeah  
I am the one who needs you  
And if you think that I just don't give a damn  
Then you just don't know who I am_."

Melanie stood up and looked down at Brad.

"_You say you hurt like me  
You say that you know  
Oh, you don't know  
I know you don't know  
You say that you're hurting  
I know it ain't so  
You don't know  
Why don't you just go?  
'Cause it lays me low  
And I'm saying  
You don't know..._"

Brad's voice grew timid.

"_Who I am..._"

"_You don't know..._"

"_Who I am..._"

Sam stood up and let out a sigh of defeat; Melanie couldn't see her, and that was the truth she had to face.

"_You just don't know who I am._"

* * *

A knock at the door woke up Brad. He was still in the kitchen. A few empty bottles of Pepi-Cola were on the table, standing up or rolling on its side. Drool had dried to his face and formed a pool on the white tabletop. He had fallen asleep the night before after a sugar crash. He rubbed his eyes and let his vision adjust to the bright room. The second set of knocks at his door made him get onto his feet and trudge over to open it.

"Mr. Prentice?" It was Mr. Bushwell. Brad groaned at this.

"Who's there?" Melanie asked as she came down the hallway.

"I'm here to tell you that you have approximately one hour before you and everyone else in this building is forcibly evicted from the Bushwell Plaza," said the landlord.

"What?" Melanie cried.

"We have until August twentieth!" Brad exclaimed. "It's only July twenty-sixth!"

"Well, in about an hour, the police will arrest you if you stick with that story," Mr. Bushwell said. "Have fun packing." He grinned and cackled as he walked away. Melanie and Brad exchanged a worried look.

They were homeless now.

Bah humbug.


	17. Happy New Year

In order to add on to the Christmas in July festivities, those who had become homeless thanks to their eviction from the Bushwell Plaza decided to have a New Year in August celebration as well. Since Sam wouldn't be able to live for the year 2013, they wanted to have one in dedication to their deceased friend. They were all going to dress up in festive costumes too, just for the heck of it. Carly was a go-go dancer, in bright blue spandex pants and a grey top with mesh sleeves and part of the shirt that somewhat covered her exposed belly. Brad dressed as a filmmaker, his future goal, which made him look more as if he were a stereotypical French man. Freddie was a rockstar, complete with eyeliner and black nail polish. They were waiting outside of the padlocked door for Melanie, Patrice, Gibby, and Tasha.

Carly groaned and leaned back against the building.

"_How long till next month?_"

Freddie checked his PearPhone.

"_Three and a half minutes._"

Carly stood upright and danced around a bit to keep herself entertained.

"_I'm giving up my vices  
I'd rather be back  
Back in school  
Eviction or not this weeks been so hot  
As long as I got you I know I'll be cool  
I couldn't crack the combination dear  
Til you made the lock on my brain explode!  
It better be a Happy New Year  
A Happy New Year._"

Brad came back from his post. His job was to make sure that Mr. Bushwell or Lewbert didn't show up and catch them breaking back into the building. It wasn't too much work, considering that it was very late at night. He shined his flashlight on Carly, who pulled a bottle on champagne out of her bag (how she was able to get the bottle was unknown to the two boys).

"_Cost is clear  
Your suppose to be working, that's for midnight  
Where are they?  
There isn't much time!_"

Carly rolled her eyes; she thought that Brad was too uptight sometimes.

"_Maybe they're dressing?  
I mean what does one wear that's appropo for a party  
That's also a crime?_"

As if on cue, Patrice, clad in a black cat suit - complete with ears, whiskers, and even a tail - arrived with a large bag of barbeque chips in her hands.

"_Chips anyone?_"

Brad whistled and shined his light on her.

"_You can take the girl out of Whoreville  
But you can't take the Whoreville out of the girl!_"

Patrice flipped him off and strutted over to the door.

"_My job got me some money  
I deserve some sympathy!_"

Carly shook her head at them as the alcohol began to take a small effect on her. She made a face at the bitter taste.

"_Be nice you two or no god awful champagne_."

Patrice greedily snatched the bottle from her friend's hands and took a large gulp.

"_Don't mind if I do  
No luck?_"

Freddie shook his head in slight defeat. They'd tried at the door for hours, but it hadn't done anything beneficial to them yet.

"_Bolted, plywood,  
Padlocked with a chain  
A total dead-end._"

Patrice took out her phone and sighed.

"_Just like my ex boyfriend._"

She dialed Pete's number and held her PearPhone to her face.

"_Honey I know your there  
Please pick up the phone  
Are you okay?_

_It's not funny_  
_It's not fair_  
_How can I atone?_  
_Are you okay?_

_I lose control but I can learn to behave_  
_Give me one more chance_  
_Let me be your slave_  
_I'll kiss your red sneakers_  
_Let me kiss your red sneakers!_  
_Your every wish I will obey!_"

Melanie walked up to the group, dressed as a hippie, and shook her head at Patrice.

"_Trust me Patrice  
He won't call  
Remember this advice._"

Patrice huffed but reluctantly hung up her phone. Everyone listened to Melanie.

"_I did a bit of research with my friends at legal aid  
Technically your squatters  
Theres hope  
But just in case..._"

She reached into her bag. Brad grinned.

"_Rope!_"

The two began a back-and-forth conversation, knowing exactly what they wanted to do now.

"_We can hoist a line -_"

"_To the fire escape -_"

"_And tie off at -_"

"_T__hat bench!_"

Patrice took another large serving of champagne.

"_I can't take them as chums._"

Melanie made a face at her.

"_So start hoisting, Whore!_"

She let out a giggle and grabbed her hand, taking her up the fire escape to break in through an apartment as a last-resort way to get into their homes. Brad followed with his flashlight. Freddie picked up the bottle where Patrice had set it down and took a swig.

"_I think I should be laughing  
Yet I forget - Forget how to begin  
I'm feeling something inside and yet I still can't decide  
If I should hide or made a wide open grin_

_Last month I wanted just to disappear_  
_My life was dust_  
_But now it just may be a Happy New Year_  
_A Happy New Year._"

Gibby and Tasha approached Freddie and Carly. They were wearing what the two of them assumed were hobo costumes. They were far off. Gibby bowed to them.

"_Bond - James Bond_."

Tasha giggled and waved.

"_And Pussy Galore  
In person!"_

Carly smirked and went along with it.

"_Pussy you came prepared!_"

Gibby grinned as Tasha presented the blowtorch they had brought.

"_I was a boy scout once  
And a brownie - till some brat got scared!_"

Carly and Freddie were confused by the comment for a few moments but chose to ignore the weird kid's antics. Gibby spotted the alcohol.

"_Aha - Moneypenny my martini!_"

Carly held out the bottle.

"_Will bad champagne do?_"

Gibby accepted it. Freddie grinned.

"_That's shaken not stirred!_"

He was the only one who laughed at his joke. Gibby turned to Tasha.

"_Pussy the bolts!_"

Tasha grinned.

"_Just say the word._"

She made the others back away and put on a mask before trying to destroy the padlock and chain. Carly squealed in delight.

"_Two minutes left to execute our plan!_"

Gibby looked around to see that no one else was around.

"_Where's everyone else?_"

Freddie rolled his eyes.

"_Playing Spiderman._"

* * *

Meanwhile, Brad, Melanie, and Patrice had made it to the fourth level of the apartment building. Brad and Melanie lived on the second floor, and Patrice was on the third, meaning they needed to try to not break into their own homes. When they made it inside, Brad flipped one of the lightswitches and noticed that it worked. He looked around and saw that all of the electronics were.

"_Ironic close up tight  
On the phone machine's red light  
Once the Boho boys are gone  
The power mysteriously comes on..._"

The three teens made it downstairs just before it was August and pried at the door from the inside.

"_Five, four, three...  
Open sesame!_"

With their luck, the door opened, and all seven squatters were now inside their apartment building once again. They cheered and hugged and drank and kissed (at least, Gibby and Tasha did) and sang:

"_Happy new year! Happy new year! Happy new year!_"


	18. Special & Radio

"So here's the woman you all came to see. The Around the Clock is proud to present fresh from her high school graduation, and soon-to-be student at the University of Washington, Seattle, please give a warm hand to the star of "Seattle Girls Gone Wild" parts two, five and seven, Carly Shay!"

Carly know those words very well. It was her introduction. She wasn't proud of it either. She had to resort to making silly videos for extra cash, which all involved "going wild" - throwing eggs at businessmen, walking around dressed as sushi, and accidentally blowing the wart off of Lewbert. At least the "wild" part wasn't too bad. She strutted onto the stage. Most of the men in the audience were familiar with her since they were all her peers. One lone whistle was let out, and she knew who it was; Tasha, who was serving non-alcoholic drinks from the bar. That was when the spotlight hit her she gave the men a seductive glance.

"_I can make you feel special  
When it sucks to be you  
I can make you feel special  
For an hour or two  
Your life's a routine that repeats each day  
No one cares who you are or what you say  
And sometimes you feel like you're nobody,  
But you can feel like somebody with me_."

She winked and dropped to the floor. The audience let out catcalls and crude statements. Carly ignored them and crawled down the stage to the end.

"_Yeah, they're real!_"

That made the men wilder. They reached out with bills. Carly reached out and took what she wanted, stuffing them into her boyshorts and straps of her bikini top. She also reached out and snatched up a drink from one of the unsuspecting guys.

"_When we're together the earth will shake  
And the stars will fall into the sea  
So come on, baby, let down your guard  
When your date's in the bathroom,  
I'll slip you my card  
I can tell just by looking that you've got it hard  
For me! For me!For me! For me!For me! For me!_"

Carly took a deep breath and prepared her final line for the night:

"_I can tell just by looking that you are especially hard for me!_"

She let the men cheer as she stormed offstage. She hated her job, but she needed to help pay for college one way or another.

* * *

"So I was thinking," Lani said as she opened a bottle of Blix, "I think we should wear pink dresses with white polka dots and a yellow sash in the middle. A sort of fifties look, you know? And we'll be in a candy shop, and there's this cute guy..."

"Alright, define cute," Ariana said. "Describe the guy."

"Tall, fluffy brown hair, kinda nerdy and smart and stuff, but he's got this little bad side that you know it deep down," Lani answered without hesitation.

"Sounds a lot like another guy that I know," Jamie said with a wink.

"Who?" Ariana demanded.

"I dunno, does this guy in the video named Freddie Benson?"

"No!" Lani claimed as her two friends giggled. "You guys!"

"We all know it is," Jamie sing-songed. Ariana copied her and the two girls were both met with throw pillows tossed in their faces.

"I'm so done with you guys right now," Lani said. She grabbed her mini radio and ran out of the room. She went outside and messed with the antenna until a station came in clearly. When it did, she heard a very familiar song.

"Is this...?" No, no, no. It couldn't be. There's no way. She wasn't that well-known. It's nearly impossible.

"_And that was _Alien Eyes_ by a new breakthrough artist, Lani Hilmeds!_" said the radio DJ. "_And now here's her cover of _21 Guns_ from the Fourth of July celebration at Ridgeway High School._" And, as he had said, her cover started to play. It was jaw-dropping. She was now a radio star. She spun around and began dancing on the front steps of the recording studio.

"_How many times did I hear it?  
How many times did they try?  
To somehow break my spirit, to somehow make me die.  
'Lani, you're odd, crazy and slow. Now much to look at-'  
Well, maybe that's so._

_They tried so hard to drag me down low,  
They didn't count on  
Count on the radio  
The radio!_"

A group of people heard her song as they walked nearby and nodded along with the music. A couple of teenagers even danced with Lani.

"_I knew it could teach  
I knew it could preach  
I knew it could reach across the air  
I knew it could sell  
I knew it could yell  
I knew it could tell the truth out there_

_Not bad for a backward hick  
Not bad for a country kid  
Not a bad little ol' trick to do all that I did!_"

More kids joined in, enjoying her music.

"_We love when she sings!  
We love when she swings!_"

Lani high-fived a few of them.

"_I love when it brings my soul to you!_"

The group followed Lani as she began dancing down the sidewalk and through the local park.

"_We love when she hops, we love when she bops!  
The ride never stops, just feel it come through!_

_So turn the volume up now!  
Let the music have it's say!  
Ain't no use holdin' back-  
The rhythm's gonna get you,  
the rhythm's gonna get you,  
The rhythm's gonna get you anyway!_

_We use her to jive, we use her to thrive!_"

Lani jumped onto the closest bench as her new fans stood around her.

"_And I came alive on the  
On the radio!  
The radio!_"

Her song finally ended and the DJ switched to an old Ginger Fox song, however, her fans begged her to sing another song.

"Wow," she said. "This is really what true fame feels like. I think I'm gonna enjoy this."


	19. Bohemian Rhapsody

Tasha sat on the fire escape of the apartment she and Gibby were living in. It's been a long week at work and the daytime was her only time off. She had just awoken from her ten-hour sleep and was taking a long drag from a cigarette she had just lit. It was what she exactly needed. There was nothing she wanted more than to just fall into a coma for a year right now. She looked down to see something peculiar. Several police officers had gathered around the outside of the Bushwell Plaza. They yanked on the door, and, of course, it was shut because of the chains they'd put on it. They must've found out that they broke back into the building. She figured that they wouldn't know what to do. That was when she accidentally dropped her cigarette from between her fingers. She gasped and watched in horror as it lightly fell to the ground to the ground, right in front of one of the policemen. He picked it up slowly and looked up at her.

"Hey!" he shouted. Tasha jumped inside and ran into her room.

"Dammit!" she grunted as she reached under her bed for a cowbell.

"What are you doing?" Gibby yawned as he woke up.

"We're gonna get arrested if we don't get out of here soon," Tasha said. "They found us."

"Really?" Gibby shot out of bed wearing no shirt (not that Tasha was surprised).

"I'm going to sound the alarm." Tasha grabbed a drumstick and ran out o the apartment. She struck her bell and mooed. Soon, all seven teens were in the halls.

"So what do we do?" Freddie asked once everyone arrived.

"Simple," Melanie said. "We split up. How many officers did you say you saw?"

"Three," Tasha answered.

"They can't catch seven of us," Carly said. "I really think that we'll be able to lose all of them."

"If one of us gets caught, we can't rat the others out," Patrice said. "It'll be harder for them if we act clueless."

They heard glass breaking; they opened the front door through the barrier that they had formed to keep the door shut. Within five minutes, they would be able to get through.

"Here's the plan," Brad said quickly. "Freddie and I will disable the elevators. The rest of you find someplace to hide. If you can, make it out of the building and run to the Groovy Smoothie. Tell T-Bo and he'll hide you upstairs or just go into a bathroom. Whatever you do, try not to get arrested. If we aren't all there in three hours, then it's safe to assume that you've been arrested, okay?"

"Got it," the others agreed. They all split up. Patrice ran down the stairs to the very last few steps. She could see the policemen's batons, but they were still trapped outside. She grinned and decided to taunt them.

"_Mama, just killed a man  
Put a gun against his head  
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead  
Mama, life had just begun  
But now I've gone and thrown it all away  
Mama, ooo  
Didn't mean to make you cry  
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow  
Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters_."

She giggled and ran off when she heard the authorities cursing at her.

Freddie broke one of the elevators. He knew it would slow the police down.

"Come on!" Carly urged. "We can stay in a hidden room in my apartment. No one will find us. We'll stay there for a couple of hours and then we'll blow this popsicle stand." She ran down the hall. Freddie stood up and fell down right away. He slowly picked himself up and something dawned on him.

"_Too late, my time has come  
Sends shivers down my spine  
Body's aching all the time  
Goodbye everybody - I've got to go  
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth  
Mama, ooo  
I don't want to die  
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all_."

He mustered up enough strength to run down the hall.

Gibby looked out the window and saw that the policemen had finally made it in.

"_I see a little silhouetto of a man!_"

He pulled Tasha onto the fire escape and the two descended all the way to the sidewalk. They made it to the Groovy Smoothie first before celebrating their escape.

Brad was working on disabling the final elevator when he felt four hands grab his arms. He was yanked back and held tightly in the grasp of two police officers with a third grinning in front of him.

"I gotcha, you little bastard," he said. Brad tried to free himself.

"_But I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me._"

The other men laughed.

"_He's just a poor boy from a poor family  
Spare him his life from this monstrosity_!"

They continued mocking him. Brad didn't give in, even as they carried him down the stairs by his arms and legs.

"_Easy come easy go - will you let me go?_"

"_Bismillah! No we will not let you go  
Let him go  
Bismillah! We will not let you go  
Let him go  
Bismillah! We will not let you go!_"

"_Let me go!_"

"_Will not let you go!_"

"_Let me go!_"_  
Never let you go!_"

"_Let me go!_"

"_Never let you go  
No, no, no, no, no, no, no!_"

"_Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go  
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me  
For me  
For me!_"

The policemen ignored him as they put him in the back of one of the cars. One drove him to the station. Brad struck at the gate separating them and hitting the locked doors and windows.

"_So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye  
So you think you can love me and leave me to die  
Oh baby  
Can't do this to me baby  
Just gotta get out  
Just gotta get right outta here!_"

About thirty minutes later, he was sitting behind bars.

"_Nothing really matters  
Anyone can see  
Nothing really matters  
Nothing really matters to me._"

About three hours after he said so, all six of his friends were sitting inside of the Groovy Smoothie, all wondering where he was.


	20. I Wish I Could Go Back to High School

Freddie was tossing and turning in his sleep. He and Carly returned to a random apartment after the police abandoned the building. She took the couch and let him have the bed since he said he was feeling a little dizzy. Even though the room was freezing cold, he was sweating profusely. He was wearing white pajamas and an undershirt, all of which was thin, and yet he wanted to strip it all off. In his sleep, he ended up under the sheet and standing up, flailing his arms until the sheet fell to his feet.

"_Take me  
Take me  
Take me, take me, ah!_"

He was ripping the buttons off of his button up shirt as he tried to take it off.

"_Take me  
Whoa-oa-oa-oa  
Today for you  
Tomorrow for me  
Today me  
Tomorrow you  
Tomorrow you love  
You love  
Love you, love you  
I love you  
Whoa-aoh!  
Take me, take me  
I love you!_  
_Ah!_"

He fell back onto the bed and finally opened his eyes. The lights flicked on and Carly was at his side in an instance.

"Oh my gosh, Freddie!" she cried.

"What?" he croaked.

"You... you have... lesions," Carly whimpered.

It was true. Freddie hadn't noticed, but they were covering his chest and upper arms, the places where no one would see them. Faintly, a few more were forming on his neck, but no one would've seen them. No one was looking for them.

Freddie's eyes widened. Carly began to cry. He knew what this was; the end.

* * *

Carly sat outside of the room Freddie was in. She had run over in her sweatpants and Penny Tee without even thinking twice about how she looked. Once they arrived, nurses flooded around Freddie and took him away. She was allowed to sit here on the floor, but that was it. She was worrying over what would happen to Freddie.

"_I wish I could go back to high school.  
Life was so simple back then  
What would I give to go back and live  
in a dorm with a meal plan again!_"

She sighed and leaned her head back against the wall.

* * *

Brad lied on his back on the cot in his jail cell.

"_I wish I could go back to high school.  
In high school you know who you are.  
You sit in the quad  
and think, 'Oh my God!  
I am totally gonna go far!'  
How do I go back to high school?  
I don't know who I am anymore!_"

* * *

Carly rolled so her side was against the wall.

"_I wanna go back to my room and find  
a message in dry-erase pen on the door!  
Ohhh...  
I wish I could just drop a class  
Or get into a play  
Or change my major  
Or fuck my T.A.  
I need an academic advisor to point the way!_"

* * *

Brad sat up and moved to the bars.

"_I could be...  
Sitting in the computer lab,  
4 a.m. before the final paper is due,  
cursing the world 'cause I didn't start sooner,  
and seeing the rest of the class there, too!_"

* * *

Carly stood up, her restlessness growing.

"_I wish I could go back to high school!  
How do I go back to high school?!  
Ahhhhhhh...  
I wish I had taken more pictures._"

"Miss Shay?" a nurse asked as she peeked her head out of the door. "You may come in now to see Mr. Benson."

Carly smiled weakly and followed her in.

* * *

Brad yanked the bars.

"_But if I were to go back to high school  
think what a loser I'd be  
I'd walk through the quad and think  
'Oh my God...  
These kids are so much younger than me.'_"

"Brad Prentice," a policewoman said. "You've been bailed out. You're free to go." She unlocked his cell and opened the door as Brad padded across the concrete floors to the front of the station.


	21. Finale B

Lani walked into the auditorium of Ridgeway High School. It was the middle of August. Tomorrow, she, Ariana, and Jamie were all flying out to Los Angeles. She was going to meet her new record dealer, and her friends were going to their new dorm rooms and starting school. She would be leaving behind the city she grew up in and the new friends she made over the years. Every laugh with Melanie and Patrice. Every performance she did. Winning Miss Ridgeway in this very room. Every memory with Sam. Every kiss with Freddie. All of her childhood belonged in Seattle.

"I'm really gonna miss it here," she said to no one in particular.

She glanced up at the stage. There was one lone spotlight. It was on the far right of the stage. None of the others were on. It was weird, but for some reason, she walked onstage and stood in the spotlight. It felt so right.

"I guess we weren't the only ones saying goodbye," Carly said as she came in. She had her arms around Freddie, supporting him as they walked down the middle aisle. Two more spotlights appeared, one next to Lani and another center stage. The latter was strangely bigger, but no one took notice.

"Freddie?" Lani asked. "Are you...?"

"I wanted to see Ridgeway one last time before I go," Freddie said hoarsely. He used to rail to hop up the steps and went right to the center. He hacked violently as Carly went to the empty space.

"I can't believe this is goodbye," Carly said.

"You say goodbye, I say hello," Brad announced as he and Melanie walked in.

"Where were you?!"

"He was caught," Melanie explained. "I bailed him out and, well, here we are." They stood in two new spotlights stage left. "Oh my gosh, Freddie, are you okay?"

"I think I'll manage," he managed to say between coughs.

"Hey, teeners."

Six teenagers looked to see Spencer walking through the double doors. He had on shorts, sporting a new artificial leg where his real one had blown off during the war. They all gasped at the sight of the big, goofy man who was now a war veteran.

"Spencer!" Carly ran offstage and into her brother's arms.

"I missed you kiddo," Spencer said. He put her down and they walked onstage together. The seven stood in their own spotlights, all reflecting on their shining moments and remembering what they all had in Seattle.

Lani looked across the stage at her friends.

"_There is no future  
There is no past_."

Freddie grinned and looked back at her.

"_Thank God this  
Moment's not the last._"

He looked past Spencer at Carly. The two best friends and ex-couple shared a smile.

"_There's only us  
There's only this  
Forget regret or  
Life is yours to miss_."

All seven smiled.

"_No other road no other way  
No day but today_."

Just then, everyone came into the auditorium. All of their friends, old and new. Jamie and Ariana. Wendy, Missy, Shannon, Patrice, and Valerie. Jonah, Pete, and Shane. Gibby and Tasha. Even teachers, like Mr. Howard, Miss Briggs, and Principal Franklin. T-Bo came in too. The auditorium flooded with people - and their voices.

"_Will I lose my dignity? (I can't control)  
Will someone care? (My destiny)  
Will I wake tomorrow (I trust my soul)  
From this nightmare (My only goal is just to be)_

_There's only now (Without you)  
There's only here (The hand gropes)  
Give in to love (The ear hears)  
Or live in fear (The pulse beats)  
No other path (Life goes on)  
No other way (But I'm gone)_

_No day but today ('Cause I die without you)_"

That was when Sam walked out on stage. Melanie was the first to turn and see her. Then Brad. Then Carly. Then Spencer. Then Lani. Everyone in the room saw before Freddie. Soon, he turned and saw Sam coming toward him. She reached out her hand, and so did Freddie. This time, he was actually able to touch her hand and hold it in his.

"_No day but today (I die without you)  
No day but today (I die without you)  
No day but today (I die without you)  
No day but today (I die without you)  
No day but today (I die without you)_"

Everyone grinned like there was no tomorrow and took one last large breath before belting:

"_NO DAY BUT TODAY!_"

All of the lights and spotlights turned off except for the one on Sam and Freddie. Sam jumped into Freddie's arms and kissed him passionately. After about five seconds, they pulled apart and rested their foreheads against each other's, their hands on each other, remembering how much they love each other.

Their spotlight turns off in the dead silence of the auditorium as they all finally leave Ridgeway.


End file.
